


Anticipation

by ALaRosa



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: F/M, One-Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-17
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2017-11-07 23:53:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 25,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/436819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALaRosa/pseuds/ALaRosa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Multi-pairings, one-shot collection. "Anticipation - n. - A previous view or impression of what is to happen; instinctive prevision; foretaste." Tension is thick in the air, but what will come of it? Will sparks fly?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Legs

**Author's Note:**

> As more of an unofficial challenge, I'm going to be following the prompts of 42_souls on LiveJournal to the general Soul Eater cast. I'll be going at my own pace, and hopefully these short little drabbles/one-shots will be great. To warn you, I'm probably going to stick to Maka/Soul and Black Star/Tsubaki primarily and dabble around with the rest of the cast as it deems fit.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you review when you get the chance.
> 
> Anticipation (n.) - A previous view or impression of what is to happen; instinctive prevision; foretaste.

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Theme** : 022. Legs

_March 25, 2009_

* * *

Tsubaki looked up from her desk to see him doing push-ups on her rug while she was attempting to finish taking notes for the following day's lectures (she figured he would try and borrow them from her when he was finished). She was slightly amused that Black Star would choose her room, above all other rooms in their apartment, to work out in, but she appreciated the company nonetheless.

He remained quiet (usually), sans the little grunting noises he would make as he progressed in his sets.

Notes becoming less captivating, her eyes drifted slowly over to the man she had known for at least five years now. She couldn't help but notice that Black Star had grown, and with each passing day she couldn't help but allow her eyes to linger a little bit too long. His arms, his shoulders... the contours of his muscles... they were far more interesting than taking down notes for a class she was being forced to take.

She relied on him being oblivious to everything under the sun except for his ever-present need to become better and stronger. As this was so, she did not figure that he would notice her staring after a few minutes. Sometimes it was better to know how high up he had been counting in order to gauge how long she had left to openly admire his physique.

"Tsubaki? Something wrong?"

That broke her trance quickly, and she tried to hide her blush with her bangs as she leaned closer to the table to pretend she was actually reading like she was supposed to be doing. "Hm?" She attempted a passive tone. "No, nothing." What was she doing? She was acting like a child with a crush–

"Your face is all red," he said from the floor, much closer now than before. His angle allowed him to peer underneath her bangs that were casting more of a shadow than anything else. "Are you hot?"

"Y-Yeah. Hot."  _I guess?_

"You shouldn't work yourself so hard, Tsubaki," he chastised, getting on his knees now to be able to see over and onto the table. "You're more than halfway done, that's good. Wan' me to finish up for ya and you can get a cold shower?"

Wait. He was offering to help with schoolwork? Was he sick and dying?

"Are you sick, Black Star?" she asked, finally gathering up enough courage to look him in the eyes–only to see that he was now  _much_  closer than she had thought he would've been. "...Black Star?"

"Hm?" he said, his deep voice rumbling in the back of his throat. His green eyes were tracing the curve of her lips before catching her look.

"You stopped exercising to... help me do homework? This is so unlike you," she said, a nervous laugh bubbling past her lips. To give up something he did religiously to aid her in doing homework... it was a very odd thought. She had noticed his absentminded fixation on her face, and if she didn't know better... no, it couldn't be.

She thought she was warm  _before_.

"Sometimes people notice what's good for 'em at weird times," he replied. "You deserve to relax more and worry less." She nearly fell off of her chair when she felt his hand slightly above her knee; what held her on was the smile he was giving her.

"It's alright," she said softly, moving her hand to cover his on her leg. "Is there a reason why you're so sentimental right now or should I just let this one pass? Or, did you break something of mine that I haven't noticed yet?"

Chuckling, he righted himself and stood to his full height (which, by now, had passed hers a bit). She immediately missed the warmth that his hand had left; it confused her, how she could feel so hot and cold at the same time when it came to him.

"If it's going to pass, it'll go on its own time in its own way." He paused, then grinned. "And no, I didn't break anything... today."

"If you say so, Black Star," she said, moving to stand. "I'll go shower and get dinner started, and you can finish up taking the notes? I'll make you your favorite tonight as a 'thank you' for helping me out."

He grinned in that boyish way he had always been famous for and chuckled, "And I'll get dessert after."

If those weren't foreboding words, she didn't know what were.

She blushed, wondering what dessert could actually be–with the tension in this room, it could be anything. "Sounds great to me." If she learned  _anything_ from him, it would be to accept a challenge willingly and head-on.

" _Ya-hoo_!" he shouted, pumping his fist into the air before taking over at her desk to see where she left off with the notes.

She smiled tenderly at him before leaning down to place a quick kiss on the crown of his head before taking off in the direction of the shower.

If she had chanced a look back, she would've seen the bright blush that had taken over her partner's face.

Neither could wait for dessert.


	2. Standing

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Theme** : 006. Standing

_March 29, 2009_

* * *

"The way you hold me... I appreciate that," she said, a small smile gracing her features. "In weapon form," she clarified, blushing a little. He smiled, and she knew it was for an entirely different reason; she couldn't help but allow her heart to lift at that.

Clearing her throat, she continued, absentmindedly wringing and playing with her hands while she stood. "You don't treat me like I could break in two or just shatter completely. You hold me like your equal, even though I know that you always say..."

"You're the only person," Black Star interrupted, "in this world that I would ever proudly admit is my equal. If it weren't for you being with me, then I wouldn't be the big man I am today. When I'm standing tall, you're standing with me. You got that, Tsubaki?"

"I do," she smiled.

He nodded, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Good." She let her hand rise to cup his cheek, knowing that she small gesture wouldn't be lost on him; she was reassured when she felt him shift only slightly to lean into her touch. Her hand got lost in his hair as she leaned down to kiss his forehead. He took it as the prime opportunity to chance a look down her dress. He was not disappointed.

"Let's go eat, I'm starving," he grinned when they finally moved apart from one another, rubbing his hands together in excitement, with a hint of deviousness.

She couldn't help but smile, admiring him as he slipped into his normal attitude, and walked by his side as he energetically chattered about what he was hungry for. This was their game, their dance. Soon it would grow into something more, but as long as they were together, she would be fine.


	3. Fortunate

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Soul, Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki

**Theme** : 028. Fortunate

_April 3, 2009_

* * *

"Have you ever heard of National Cleavage Day? What kinda person would come up with a holiday like that?" Soul asked, pushing a french fry into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"A genius," Black Star shot back, stretching his arms over his head with a giant grin on his face. "A holiday all about–" He immediately shut up as his partner walked by, giving him a small smile as she sat down next to Maka who was eating at a table across the way. He nodded at her in greeting, his grin never faltering as a certain notion popped into his mind. He dropped his voice as much he could, which really wasn't much, and said, "I lucked out on this grand holiday, as only a man who has," the volume of his voice spiked, "surpassed God," and then lowered again, "could."

"Oh?" Soul asked, his eyes turning to the table where their partners sat. "Guess so. If I brought the size of her tits up to her I'd get slammed by a book so fast I wouldn't even be able to think twice. I've done it before, and I've learned my lesson." He paused as he reflected, his eyes darting back and forth between weapon and meister. "You're lucky, though; I mean, you see a nice rack daily and you don't–"

Black Star shrugged with a pleased grin, "Eh, a couple of times, but–"

That was news to Soul. "Wait, you've... all of... without a...  _really_? How'd you manage that one? I just meant, like,  _be around_  a good pair with a dress that has enough cleavage without giving it all away, not... seeing nipple or anything."  _Like Blair_ , he added mentally.

"Stealth!" he shouted, receiving glares from both women at the table opposite theirs that went unknown to him. He grinned stupidly, proud of himself and his accomplishments, "I have been gifted with the ways of a skilled assassin, my man, and I use my skills to the best of my ability."

Maka turned to raise an eyebrow at the steadily reddening Tsubaki (who was trying to hide herself behind her drink).

"You mean you peep on her while she's bathing? Isn't that kinda low to do to your partner?" Soul asked, glancing over now and again at the two girls eating quietly. They were usually a lot louder with their chatting but now it seemed a bit suspicious.

"I usually have to get stitches in my forehead afterward, but it's so fuckin' worth it. Besides, she doesn't mind as long as she doesn't know that I'm there," he grinned. Black Star held his hands out in front of his chest out far, moving them to emphasize a large chest. Despite having his eye on the table across from them, Soul grinned and rewarded his friend with a thumbs up. "Besides, she knows she can see how  _big_  of a man I really am whenever she wants–"

"Do you realize that your voices carry, you assholes?"


	4. Lick

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Soul/Maka

 **Theme** : 03. Lick

_April 6, 2009_

* * *

"What's so bad about that?" she questioned, entirely too close to him for him to make a proper judgement call. The way her eyes were slightly glazed over from intoxication, this entire predicament had 'bad news' written all over it.

This was so uncool.

Of course, the only time that the opportunity had presented itself, she had to be drunk out of her mind.

He wasn't that type of guy who would take advantage of this type of situation. No,  _that_  was uncool. He wouldn't do that to his meister, his best friend. So what if he had been thinking less kosher things about her lately? So what if his heart sped up whenever he saw her enter a room (especially in a towel or those shorts she now wore to bed)? That meant nothing to him now when the only thing on his mind was to get her home, get a lot of water into her to combat the impending hangover, and to send her off to bed. That was the mature, noble thing to do and he knew she would be grateful for it come morning. He couldn't act on his desire, even when she was there, coming onto him.

One thing that he had learned about Maka Albarn over the years was that she talked a big game; specifically, she was a lightweight that claimed otherwise and tried to prove herself right every time. Goaded into drinking shot after shot by Black Star and never being able to turn down a challenge, she was also one of the most stubborn people he had met in his lifetime when he tried to explain to her that  _no, drinking your weight in rum is not a wise idea_ and that  _Maka, when did Black Star become the voice of reason, you idiot?_

Therefore, it was his job to stay remotely sober in order to pick up the pieces of his shattered comrade when the time came.

No matter how much he wanted to give in and allow this to proceed, he just...

"What's so bad about being with me? I know you want it," she grinned, giggling in that way that sounded devious more so than girly. She had a plan in her mind, he could tell. Her hand snaked up his arm to rest on his shoulder before moving to the nape of his neck to play with his hair. She swirled her finger as she looked to the heavens in a painstakingly fake innocent face, biting her lip. "I'm not that drunk, I swear."

"If you're not so drunk, where did your shoes go?" Soul asked wryly, frowning at her. It took all of his power to not focus on the tingles he was feeling as she played with his hair.

"Shoes? Who needs shoes when I have," she said, dropping her voice down as she took a step closer, almost suffocating him with the lack of distance between them now, " _you_."

This was not good, he knew, as his eyes immediately darted to the small bit of cleavage her dress allowed. She didn't even have much of it to begin with, but he still looked.  _Damn it all to hell,_  he almost growled. Maybe he had more alcohol in his system than he was aware of.

In almost a whisper, she said, "Soul?" before almost closing the gap between them. He could feel her breath on his lips, and he didn't know what to do with himself. He knew he should be pushing her away, be a gentleman, but he was frozen. Her eyes were too bright, her lips were too red, as her cheeks were so flushed... she was gorgeous, and he was entranced even if he wouldn't want to admit it.

When Soul thought she was going to pull back and be done with it, to let him go and act like nothing happened, but she simply detoured. She dove in to kiss the underside of his jaw, moving down to his neck. His eyes fluttered shut at the feeling of her lips and tongue on his skin, his mouth slightly agape; his mind was wandering elsewhere, to the other places her mouth could be useful on his skin... and once that thought rang out in his mind, he  _had_  to pull away before he would regret allowing her to go through with what she was doing. Her lips felt so good, and she was so tempting. Though... once they passed a certain point, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself or her; he was strong, but not  _that_  strong. He had to cut this off at the pass before his mind fully shut down.

"Maka, please stop," he said forcefully–almost a little desperately, if he was being honest with himself–carefully pushing her away from him but holding his hands on her shoulders.

She looked confused, but then her expression fell. "You... don't want me?" Her voice was so small. She turned away, embarrassed at her own presumptuous actions. "I'm such an idiot, Soul."

"No... Maka," he grasped her chin to force her eyes back to his. He tried his best to be reassuring, but he couldn't help but feel bad by the look in her eyes. "Try again when you're not drunk and we can go from there. I don't want you regretting–"

He stopped mid-sentence as Maka's arms suddenly came up to circle around his neck, hugging him tightly to her. "I would never regret anything that has to do with you, unless it had to do with letting you go. But... Soul?"

He raised an eyebrow in question, allowing that to suffice for a response.

"Kiss me? Just once?"

He did so without hesitation.


	5. Morning

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Black Star/Tsubaki

**Theme** : 40. Morning

_April 10, 2009_

* * *

When she wanted something from him, she usually got it.

She never really asked for much in life, being perfectly content with the hand she was dealt. She wasn't spoiled, nor did she abuse the splendor life granted her either. So, when she mumbled sleepily to him that morning she wanted to just lie in bed for a little longer as she cuddled against his side, he couldn't push her away. He wouldn't tell her that he had a lot of things to do (which wasn't always a lie, he had a training regimen he followed religiously), or that he felt that his back hurt from that new position they had tried out the night previous and he needed to stretch in order to get the knots out of his back.

Ultimately, he was a restless person who always needed to be moving in order to feel fulfilled and pleased with himself. Sure, he could be lazy and eat until he couldn't move, but he always balanced that out by working out for hours once he could move again.

There had to be a give and take, a pull and push, and he couldn't get that by lying in bed–no matter how comfortable the pillow felt behind his head, nor how pleasing it felt to have Tsubaki wrapped up in his arms and the warmth that action brought.

Cuddling wasn't on his list of things that he loved to do. Running, sex, high places, screaming until his lungs hurt, sex, group sports, copious amounts of food piled high in front of him to eat, sex, and... if it took cuddling to get one of his favorite things, or even afterward, he wouldn't push her away or deny her something that she wanted. He wasn't  _that_ selfish.

He knew, in order to be a big man, he would have to compromise.

Besides, the way her breasts were pushed up against him weren't a bad consolation prize, either.

The day could wait a bit longer.


	6. First

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Theme** : 09. First (In this case, the 'first' capture.)

_April 23, 2009_

* * *

The pulsing of her heartbeat was loud in her ears as her eyes moved swiftly from one location to the next, trying to hear, or even predict, her partner's location. Her breath was low and controlled as she pressed her back against the closest tree to hide herself. She closed her eyes for only a split second before darting to the left after hearing a quiet rustle to the opposite side.

He was getting better, she admitted to herself with a little reluctance and a little pride. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up; almost a full half hour out in the woods surrounding the town, and he hadn't made his move yet. She had been given a head start, since he believed was already an unfair advantage for her when the 'man who had surpassed god' was chasing her.

She didn't know if she was in her right mind when she agreed to this training exercise, but the gleam in Black Star's eye propelled her to play his game of cat and mouse. She was intrigued, to put it lightly, at his suggestion; however odd it seemed, she would help him in whatever way possible. That's what she was there for.

Tsubaki was surprised she evaded him for this long. She could've cheated, in a way only she knew how, leaving her clothes behind–he could never keep his mouth shut–but she didn't.

She found her back up against yet another tree as she quietly attempted to catch her breath. Her eyes scanned the area, and even though he was nowhere to be found, she was still on alert. She looked everywhere, as if she were the one hunting him instead of the other way around.

She didn't look up, a mistake on her part.

He was perched on a branch above her head, up a ways, taking in the view down her dress as a great merit for his abilities. A man as great as he was would definitely have a woman with breasts as full as hers, no doubt. Black Star leapt, landing to the side of a now-startled Tsubaki who hadn't predicted his move. She tried twirling around to see him, but his arms wound themselves tightly around her waist to prevent her from moving. When he knew that she wasn't going to struggle, at least not now that she had seen the familiar gloves he wore, he decided that he would reward himself for his first capture of the day.

His hand moved from the fullness of her hips where they had rested to the open slit of her dress, pushing his hand underneath the flowing material. Tsubaki had a vague idea that this would be the result of her being found and welcomed it. She was suddenly grateful for easy access of her outfit as his other hand occupied itself with kneading her breast, squeezing and pinching the tender flesh through fabric.

Her breath hitched her throat, and she felt the need to see him, kiss him, anything. Once again, he refused to let her move freely; she was his prey, after all, and he would have full control over her. With the hand that had been previously attending to her breast, he gave her ass a quick slap, commanding her to stay still. She gasped at suddenness of his action, but he paid it no mind as he continued with what he had previously started. Black Star brought his other hand to the front of her panties, caressing her through the white cotton with a touch so surprisingly light it felt like it almost wasn't there. She shifted her hips to push against his fingers. The intensity of his movements kept confusing her–hot and cold, hard and soft, fast and slow... his entire being was contradictory, always keeping her on the edge, alert. She had previously fantasized that he would be harsh, fast, and at least a little inexperienced; he knew where everything was, what urged her forward, and she wasn't sure how she took that bit of information. Once his fingers rubbed against her in quick circles, noticing her silent plea, she realized that she didn't care.

Tsubaki's gaze hardened as her eyes locked on his face; she couldn't say a word, didn't want to say a word, or the spell of whatever was holding him there may break. What had gotten into him? She wasn't used to this side of him. Not yet, anyway. A few more times and she'd be a natural. He cupped her, and with a jerk, pulled her flush against him to show his evident arousal. That's what had gotten into him–the need that she knew so well.

She felt his lips against her ear and tried not to shiver at his breath against her skin. Frowning at the sudden absence of his wandering fingers that had retreated, she tilted her head back to see what was wrong. Before she could question him, he spoke in a low voice, that glint back in his eye as he looked straight ahead: "Run."

One word.

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened at his command. He wanted her to run? After what he started, he wanted her to run? He wanted to chase after her, continue their game, and then... then?

Her feet started on their own accord.

She wanted to be caught.

So she ran.


	7. Rumors

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Maka/Soul, Spirit, Stein

 **Theme** : 35. Rumors

_May 1, 2009_

* * *

Her pigtail was brushed aside by her father's hand. "Papa, what are you–"

"Maka, what..." he tried off, pointing at her neck with a quizzical raise of his eyebrow. "Did you burn yourself?"

Oh, Papa...

"When I was straightening my hair, yeah," she lied, staring her father down. The book was getting heavy in her hand and she was itching

"Isn't your hair naturally straight like your Mama's?"

"I like to make it... really straight," she lamely replied, hoping he wouldn't think twice about her response. Couldn't she come up with anything better?

"I see."

They stood in the large hallway, Spirit managing to grab hold of his daughter (against her will, of course), to bring them to this spot where they now both stood.

He was especially somber, after hearing whisperings that his precious baby girl was now romantically involved. It was his job to find out who, and... without a doubt, he could tell that she was lying about burning herself. He knew with a love bite was; he had given plenty of them in his day, and received even more.

He wasn't dumb, although he could play it pretty well. Her lies... all they did was fuel the fatherly rage-fire that was growing in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't surprised that she would be seeing someone, she was his beautiful, intelligent daughter. What smart young male wouldn't want to snatch her up? She took after her mother in most ways, but... he needed to check out the guy first in order for everything to be alright. Maka was smart, she wouldn't be with  _just_  anyone.

"Do you have something to tell me? Or, can I just head to my next class?" she asked, frowning at her father. When he didn't answer right away, she queried again, "Papa?"

"Hm?" He snapped out of his previous thoughts to look into his daughter's bright green eyes. "Oh, no, Maka... I just wanted to say..." he trailed off as he saw his daughter's partner walk up to them and take her hand. So much for that heartfelt speech that was bubbling within him.

"Oi, come on, Maka. We're going to be late," Soul said, trying to tug her in the direction of Stein's classroom. He knew she most likely wanted to get out of the situation of being with her father, but they really were going to be late if they didn't hurry up.

"Sleuthing, are you?"

The Death Scythe nearly jumped out of his skin. Spirit turned around at an abnormally fast that he almost gave himself whiplash at the voice he suddenly heard. "Can you not do that, please? My hair will be as grey as yours." As he turned back, he caught a glance at the young boy's chest that was visible due to his button-up shirt as he was being turned as Maka began to walk away. "Oi! Evans!"

Soul spun around at his name, a look of displeasure on his face at being stopped.

"Did you burn yourself while straightening your hair, too?" he growled sarcastically, having to be held back by Stein so he wouldn't tear off after the young boy. When Stein's arms came around his arms he had no idea.

Maka's eyes widened at the realization that her father knew  _exactly_  what she was doing with her weapon. She tugged Soul in the direction of his class with a greater urgency than before. "Button up, you idiot!" she hissed and they exited the hallway unscathed. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"They're young, living together... it was bound to happen sooner or later," Stein said, shrugging as he let go of Spirit's arms. "You, of all people, should be the least surprised at this development."

"How so?" He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. They were young, living together–they couldn't be sleeping together, could they? Oh, no, no, no, no, no...

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer," he trailed off, walking in the direction of the class he was supposed to be leading.

"Wait, what? Hey! I'm talking to you here!"


	8. Unfortunate

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Spirit/Kami, mentions of Maka

 **Theme** : 27. Unfortunate

_May 15, 2009_

* * *

The first time he saw her, he felt as if he were the luckiest man in the world. When they were paired up to be partners, he knew his luck was golden.

She thought it was a bit unfortunate that his eyes drew her in so strongly, but she smiled nonetheless when he smiled at her. The way her knees went weak was not a great sign... especially if they were going to be partners from now on. It would be highly unprofessional of her to give into those temptations.

Months had gone by, and they were doing nothing but getting stronger; as a couple, as lovers, as partners... they were unbeatable, and he was only a few souls away from becoming a Death Scythe, if everything went just so. Their plans were perfect. He spoke of a glorious future as they lay tangled in the sheets, sweat lingering even in the quiet moments after their lovemaking. Clumsy and fast–at first–but that didn't matter. What's done was done.

They were young and in love, and nothing could get in the way of their happiness. Their goals were big, as were their dreams. She would roll her eyes at him with a tender smile, and he would grin back at her. They weren't invincible, but they had each other. They would travel together, see beautiful sights all over the world, and do so as a family. That was before.

Seventeen when they found out, eighteen when she was born. It didn't take long for them to get married after the news spread. It only seemed natural.

The first time the squirming bundle was placed into his arms, he knew his life wasn't going to be the same. A chunk of his heart had been broken off and given to this green-eyed beauty the first time he held her little hand. That little hand was directly placed on his heart. His Maka was his world... and as she grew, he wanted to grow with her. He read her stories, made silly faces to make her smile, and tucked her in at night; he felt at peace with himself, but something was a bit off. He was twenty-two. Was this how life was supposed to be so young?

His eyes began to wander.

His intentions, no matter much it wouldn't seem so, were still pure. He couldn't help it, when at bars, women came to him in hopes of more than a sultry smile. When a pair of pretty eyes and a voluptuous body was placed in front of him, he felt powerless; even thought his love was with someone else, he was useless against the feminine prowess. Spirit did nothing to push them away. He could've stopped going to bars, which Kami protested vehemently during one of their heated arguments, but he still went.

Kami would have none of that.

One day, after kissing their daughter goodbye, she went to fulfill her own dream of traveling the world... without him, only with promises of a safe return _one of these days_. He still loved her very much, as well as their daughter, but he felt like he was forced into everything so early... he was still a child at heart, responsibility pushed on him too soon. He couldn't help it if Kami grew up before he did.

They had been too young, but they were in love still... weren't they?

It was unfortunate.


	9. Uncomfortable

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Spirit/Kami, mentions of Maka

 **Theme** : 19. Uncomfortable

_May 18, 2009_

* * *

He wouldn't have been exaggerating if he claimed that she was the size of a house right then and there, but he wanted to keep a certain appendage that put her in this position to begin with, so he was going to keep his mouth shut.

Lying on the hospital bed, his extremely pregnant wife was panting as contractions came and went, each one more painful than the last. He was there to support her, of course, but the doctors were taking their sweet time in telling her that she could get going. Or, rather, was it that her body was taking its sweet-ass time? He didn't know. What he  _did_  was that his hand was about to fall off; and, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to walk straight ever again due to a deadly-aimed Kami-chop. Despite his injuries, he was going to be there, goddammit, and he was going to support her in her time of need. That was their child that was going to be coming out of her...  _there_... and she was going to be adorable and he would love her unconditionally, broken hand or not. If he could make it through the childbirth, that is; his hand fucking  _killed_.

Spirit believed she was aiming to break every bone in his hand after he had heard a sickening pop. She was out to get him, he was sure, but he would let it slide because he knew that she was in a lot more pain than he could ever be in right then. After many swears and curses towards his name, he was ready to walk out and give her some space (and to allow him time to get ice). Just as he was about to go take a break, the look in her eyes halted whatever urgence he had given his feet to  _get the hell out of there_. She looked absolutely terrified and pained, and he couldn't walk away from that (if only he knew then what he would know in the future what that look entailed).

"Kami, hang in there," he said through clenched teeth as her grip magnificently strengthened on his hand. Did that mean she was holding on loosely before? He wouldn't doubt it, she wielded a weapon almost daily, why would he doubt her hand strength now? "Everything's going to be okay, and then you can eat all the ice cream you want until you explode."

She laughed weakly at his attempt to cheer her up, "Easy for you to say. You're not the one–" She bit down, grunting as yet another contraction ripped through her. The contractions were coming so close to one another, now, why weren't the doctors coming back to check now?

"Soon, Spirit," she said, already exhausted. He didn't blame her, either. After so many battles fought together, souls captured... she never looked  _this_  worn in such a short amount of time. She let go of his hand, finally, to brush the damp locks of blonde hair away from her sweaty forehead. "She'll be here soon, and we'll all be able to go home."

He nodded. If anyone had told him that Kami was weak in any way, he would've outright laughed at them; even though they were young, crazy for jumping into parenthood so soon, they were determined. "I don't know if wishing you luck would do any good," he said softly, pushing back a stubborn piece of hair from her forehead that fell back down. "You've been practicing for this, reading so many books... luck's not–"

Giving him a wary smile, she knew what was coming. Might as well let him do it while there were no doctors or nurses in the room to add 'thoroughly embarrassed' to 'in pain' and 'you promised me drugs, where are they?' to her array of emotions. "Get it out of your system, Spirit," she interrupted, nodding for him to go on. He would feel useless otherwise.

The Death Scythe gave her a lopsided grin that should've been trademarked before he began rubbing his hands together, making soft chanting noises as he stared intently at Kami's swollen stomach.

She didn't know where he picked up this need to give such an overenthusiastic 'good luck' to her, but as long as he didn't start a small fire in the hospital room or whipped out his headband (that was in their apartment locked behind a door he didn't know about) she would make it through the birth of their child okay.

He never did these chants for himself, just for things he deemed important; whenever she had a big exam or something academically promising, mostly, was when he felt it was necessary. She found it silly and usually ran from the room with an eyeroll whenever he began, and he would chase her around, but she was just too uncomfortable now that any and every goofy thing Spirit did cheered her up.

She was grateful for the insanity.

Spirit reached his hands out and carefully rubbed Kami's abdomen, as he had done in the past, but kept murmuring 'good luck, good luck' over and over again making these indistinguishable noises that sounded like hisses. He put his hands together as if he were... shooting some type of beam from them towards her stomach? The hell? Kami did not understand her husband one bit when he got into these moods.

Her eyes followed his form as he went through the movements before he kissed her stomach to signal the end of his chant. "'n I love my girls," he said before kissing Kami's forehead. Alright, she had to give him brownie points for that one... if she wasn't already giving birth to his child she would've jumped him to repeat the whole process.

When he doctor had come in finally to check her vitals and how far along she was in her dilation, he announced that it was finally time to begin pushing.

Maybe good luck was all she needed to get this show on the road.


	10. Shower

**Character(** _ **s**_ **)/Pairing(** _ **s**_ **)** : Black Star/Tsubaki

**Theme** : 07. Shower

_May 30, 2009_

* * *

She sighed in contentment as she slid deeper into the bath water. The heat was definitely soothing her strained muscles after the long training session she and her partner had earlier in the day. She realized, then and there, that she wouldn't want to be anywhere but where she was at that moment. She couldn't help but let another moan of happiness escape her lips; the water was just  _so soothing_. She remained there for an amount of time she was unsure of, but she was mellow.

"T-Tsubaki?"

She dipped lower in the bath, her hands instinctively coming up to cover her breasts underneath the water. Black Star had opened the door slightly, and some of his hair was visible to the weapon, but he made no move to fully come in and disrupt her alone time. Maybe she should rearrange her hair or something...

"Yes, Black Star?" she asked, not allowing the frustration seep into her voice at being interrupted in relaxing.

"Can you stop making those noises?" he asked, his voice small. Small? That was something different.

She was confused. "What noises?" Sure, she wasn't exactly staying deathly silent, but she didn't think she was being loud, either.

"Those little... sigh things."

"I didn't realize I was making much noise..." she said, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. "I didn't think I was being loud."

He didn't want to tell her that those noises were driving him up a wall. He didn't want to say that those noises were forcing his mind to go to dangerous places. "Well, you are, and it's distracting to my training. If I'm going to surpass God then I need to have the best concentration possible. You making those noises throws me... all... off..." as he trailed off, she figured that he had finally looked in the bathroom to see her face while talking. He could never keep a sentence together if he saw her in any form of undress different than her usual outfit.

She had moved her eyes from the ceiling that she had been focusing on to see Black Star's face that was bright red. He looked so uncomfortable, shifting around and squirming by the door.

What was up with him?

"Maybe you should lock the door from now on, too," his hand came up to his face and he coughed before entering the bathroom fully to grab some tissue to wipe at his nose with.

"It's not like you haven't seen me in some form of undress before, Black Star," she said. She was blushing, sure, but she was nowhere at the level he was at. "You've purposefully peeped on me in the bath. What's different now?"

He couldn't say it now. He wouldn't say it now. "What's different is that... that..."

"...that?" she questioned after almost a full minute of silence. She shifted, the water making little noise as she crossed her legs. Sighing, she neglected to notice Black Star's eyes on her legs.

"It's not manly to talk about things like that, especially when you're indecent. After your bath, we'll... we'll... talk." His eyes were trained on her as she shifted, unaware of her current state of exposure. He couldn't look away–not that he really wanted to. It was rude, and he was taking advantage, but... but...

"Why are you nervous?"

"I'm not nervous!" he near-yelled, reeling back to the wall and now only looking at her face. He had to focus on her face in order to get out of there alive.

"Then why are you stammering?"

"Because you being naked is throwing me off, and the noises! Didn't I tell you about the noises?" Going back to his original point was fine, but it wasn't enough.

"You did."

"Well, then–"

"You don't like... this?"

His tone turned exasperated as he threw his hands up in the air. "That's not what I'm talking about at all."

"Then what? You're confusing me."

"I said we were going to talk, didn't I? We'll talk then! I can't think straight when I can see your breasts, goddammit!"

She was thoroughly confused. Her breasts? She was–

Her eyes widened when she realized her hands had dropped from their protective stance over her chest and that her breasts were fully visible. "I'm sorry!" She swore once, and Black Star found it endearing; he enjoyed it when she acted out of character around him... despite these circumstances.

"Don't be, but..." he made a strangled noise before grabbing more tissue and leaving the room. "Just hurry up with that bath, will you?"


	11. Nippy

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Theme** : 11. Nippy

_June 13, 2009_

* * *

He sat in their living room, his head dropped back on the edge of the couch with a bag of ice in his lap.

Needless to say, it hadn't been his day. He didn't know how that was going to change.

"Isn't that... awkward... to sit with ice on your..." Tsubaki began, eyeing him sitting there from the doorway between two rooms. Their apartment was already at an uncomfortable temperature in the late summer afternoon, so she switched on the fan to circulate the air around the room.

Black Star heaved a sigh and opened one eye to look at her. "Eh, it's better than without."

"That must hurt, though," she give him an uneasy look as her eyes kept shifting from his face to the bag of ice.

"Not so much anymore," he shrugged, trying not to notice her eyes on him _down there_. At least look when he wasn't slightly wounded. "I mean, at first, yeah. Now I'm just keeping the ice on there to get rid of the heat. It'll be a bag of water soon enough."

"Hm, that might be a smart idea." The second those words came out of her mouth, Black Star's mind was now swimming with the mental image of Tsubaki taking two ice cubes to her nipples while giving him a shy smile.

The bag shifted in his lap without any assistance.

He began to chuckle, a pleased grin on his face as the image grew more elaborate.

"Where is your mind right now?" Tsubaki asked, giving him what could qualify as a Maka-level look. Her tone was what snapped Black Star out of his reverie (sadly). Both eyes were open now.

He slowly spoke, shifting the bag back into place. "...what are you talking about?"

Shaking her head with what he believed was a roll of her eyes, she exited the room.

"What?" he called louder, wondering what she was up to now.

After not hearing anything for a good minute, his eyes slipped shut. He waited quietly, for once, until something hard and cold slid down the front of his bare chest. "Ah!" he leaped up, almost into Tsubaki who had been standing over him for the past few seconds, dropping ice cubes. She laughed as he struggled, the bag that was perched over his crotch forgotten. "Woman!"

"It seems like you're all better now, don't you think?" Her smile almost distracted him enough, but he wasn't one to be swayed away from a fight so easily.

"Oh, I'll show you!" he picked up the ice cube that had fallen and run after her with it. Taking the ice cube, he dropped it down the back of her shirt in retaliation. With a squeal at the cold, she arched her back in hopes to get the ice cube out of the confines of her t-shirt faster. "Black Star!"

"Fair's fair! As if you didn't think I would fight back," he called as he laughed as her flailing around. "Revenge!"

"Fine, fine! You can stop now!"

Pretending to think about it, he paused and then shook his head as he advanced, "No!" He managed to get another one down the front of her shirt, followed by whatever else was in the bag that he had been using previously.

"Black Star!"

"Fine," he sighed, leaning into the kitchen a bit to toss the ice into the sink, "but that shirt's gotta go. It's all wet and I can see through it anyway." Thank the God he had surpassed for this sight. If only she wasn't wearing a bra, he would take out those ice cubes again and continue that little fantasy he had going before.

"Black Star!" she groaned his name again, still not completely used to him openly hitting on her. This was new, but still... it  _was_  hot.

He turned his falsely innocent expression to her. "What?" He was the devil in disguise. Wasn't he wounded?

He just enjoyed her calling out his name so much.

Her fingers curved underneath the hem of her t-shirt. "Fine." She could play nurse for a little while, anyway. If he was going to talk a big game, she would match him, move for move.

His eyes almost bugged out of his head as he watched her shirt rise higher and higher before being discarded completely.

His day had turned around.


	12. Hips

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Theme** : 34. Hips

_June 25, 2009_

* * *

She stood in front of the full-length mirror, turning slightly on the ball of her foot in order to see the way the small scrap of fabric hugged her curves from the back. With her ever-scrutinizing eye, she frowned and pulled at the lacy fabric that was already riding, but was pleased with the look nonetheless. She didn't know why she spent the time and effort looking for something... sexy... but she felt like she needed to affirm her femininity every so often with how surrounded she usually was with dirty boys and fighting. Shopping with Maka and the Thompson sisters every couple of weeks (so not too pressing on their budget) was a lifesaver.

Turning back to fully survey herself from the front, she pushed her hair, free from its usual ponytail, over her shoulders in order to not obstruct her view. She cupped her breasts from the sides, shifting the black, lacy bra to a more comfortable position. She didn't know why this fabric had to itch so damned much. She couldn't gripe loudly, however; it made her breasts look wonderful. Turning to the said again, she looked herself up and down. Even if she couldn't show Black Star now (everything between them was changing, foreign and new), she would show him–

"Tsubaki, do you know where the–" he peeked his head in the door, and the second his eyes saw the abundance of pale skin, they widened. "... s-sorry." Even though he apologized, he didn't pull his head out of the doorway.

Ever since she was graced with such curves, she felt as if wearing a bra and panties around was the same as wearing a bathing suit at the beach. Plus, having a male roommate who walked around naked fifty percent of the time lowered awkwardness (after about the first five times he did so).

"For?" she asked, turning from the mirror to the door, her arms crossed underneath her chest. She didn't know that, by doing so, maximized her cleavage even further. Tsubaki did have the natural decency to blush, however common lack of dress was in their apartment.

"Actually, I'm not sorry," he said, pushing the door open completely, making his way into the bedroom. "This is a sight I wouldn't be able to continue living without."

She couldn't help the way her cheeks grew more flushed. That was a compliment if she had ever heard one in her life. "You really think so?"

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. You know that," he responded, grinning at her as he flipped a thumbs up. "Bangin' body."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You could word it a little better."

"Fine. You're sexy as hell. Come here," he made grabby hands for her as he stepped closer. He grasped her hips, taking the time to savor the image of her in front of him dressed like this. They hadn't done anything serious yet, but he was itching for it. Flexing his fingers, he held onto her hips a little tighter, before sliding his eyesight up to her...

"I'll allow it," she said softly, amused at the look of pure glee he shot her before openly gaping at her breasts. She knew that was a weakness of his–those and her legs. She was amused, herself, at how far they had come; she used to throw shuriken at him for doing this, but now she was encouraging the attention.

"Rules?"

"None."

She usually gave him the "look, don't touch" rule, forcing him to work on his self control around her, but... she didn't feel like it at the moment.

They stood nose-to-nose, mother nature blessing him with a growth spurt a couple years prior. They didn't look so weird together any more. "I can do what I want to do now?"

That question alone almost made her shiver in anticipation. She nodded slowly.

Without wasting any time, he rose his hands from her hips, bringing them to her breasts, almost ghosting his caress over the thin lace. Tsubaki watched the concentrated look on his face as she let out a shaky exhale, feeling a shot of pride that he took her and her body this seriously. The look in his eyes was mesmerizing as she took the initiative this time, kissing him; she cupped his cheeks, leaning back to reel him in further. He met her kiss, pushing and kneading at her breasts as he explored her mouth. As quiet as she usually was, he hadn't touched her like this before, so when a rogue purr and a moan made it to his ears, he wanted to hear more; he wanted her to get louder. Only for him.

Hands moved in a hurry, barriers were crossed, lingerie was pushed aside. His mouth was hot against her skin as she tilted her head backwards with a sharp cry; he bit and teased her nipple playfully, licking and playing with her. Tsubaki's hands, deep in Black Star's hair, tightened as she pulled him back–rather roughly, which he found to be a turn on–before kissing him hard on the mouth. He didn't know she had it in her, but this surprise was yet another pleasant one as he kissed her back with just as much fervor.

Her phone rang–a rather obnoxious jingle, he thought–which snapped them both out of their dazes. Pulling away slowly, she moved a couple steps back, followed by Black Star who wouldn't let her hips go, to answer the phone.

After an awkward two-minute conversation that was continuously interrupted by Black Star's impatient huffs and whines, she hung up and looked at those green eyes of his. "You're a brat," she said teasingly as she smiled, swatting his hands away from her chest. She righted her bra, which signaled, he assumed, the end of play time. His frown deepened. He didn't like it when her breasts went back into hiding. They deserved to be free, dammit.

Taking his hands, he tugged him in the direction of her bed. His mind kicked up again, thinking that the fun wasn't over, but when she laid down, pulling him to her chest, he knew that the heat of the moment was gone; they were interrupted by a dumbass phone call from a dumbass meister who needed help making dumbass dinner for her dumbass anniversary with her dumbass weapon. Why did she have to answer the phone, anyway? He would've let it ring if that meant he was going to get some.

He was going to need a cold shower.

Dammit.

"So, what was it that you were looking for earlier?" She ran a hand through his hair, smiling as he cozied up to her despite how much he wanted to do the opposite. Even though his instincts were shouting one thing at him, he figured that control and patience would be the key factors in winning Tsubaki's innocence. It was something to be worked for and cherished, and he wouldn't surpass God in any way if he wasn't considerate of the next best thing to himself.

He snuggled against her chest, content. "I don't care anymore."


	13. Furious

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

**Theme** : 05. Furious

_July 6, 2009_

* * *

As she held hands with the young man she had been out on a date with, she walked up to her apartment door, pretty pleased with how the night went. With a shy smile, she turned to him, and he blushed in response to the pressure the end of a nice date brought; to kiss or not to kiss, to prepare plans for a second date, to be invited in... or not. Tsubaki knew that she could never invite a male companion into the house that wasn't a friend of Black Star's, so she dismissed that thought immediately. She had a nice time with this boy, and she didn't want it ruined.

"Thank you for tonight," she said, bowing her head shyly as she pulled her hand out of his grasp. It had been the first time she had left the apartment with someone other than her partner in over a week, and she needed a little vacation from playing housewife.

Her date's eyes lit up, thinking of the possibilities of further exploration since the date had gone well. "Yeah? Well, I was hoping we could–"

The door to the apartment they were standing in front of swung open, the couple met with angry green eyes.

"She's going to pass on that one, champ," the greeter stared with anger, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"You don't speak for her!" the boy responded, beginning to get angry. "Do you know who I am?"

The second that sentence left that man's mouth, Tsubaki knew the end was clear. She placed a halting hand up to Black Star, in order to ward off the rant that was sure to follow a bullshit statement like that from someone neither one of them knew too well. Turning to her date, she smiled apologetically, bowing slightly to him, "I'll be in touch. I'm sorry for this."

"She won't," Black Star responded, taking hold of Tsubaki's hand in attempt to tug her into the apartment.

"Don't I get a goodnight kiss, or a hug, at least?" he asked, trying to see around the hulking form of Black Star to Tsubaki who was already successfully pushed into the apartment.

"No," the assassin replied, slamming the door in the confused and frustrated male's face that he shut out. "I know who you are. Be warned, I'll kill you if I see you again."

Once the door was closed, however, that was an entirely different story.

"Black Star! How dare..." she tried to form a coherent sentence through her anger, "... to tell me who I can and cannot date! You have no say whether or not–"

He interrupted, "He's an invalid, therefore his name is irrelevant." His arms crossed over his broad chest, huffing. "Besides, he thinks with his dick."

"Black Star! Regardless, you can't keep sending my dates away! They're hard enough to get with you lurking around. I'm surprised you didn't follow me this time! I had a nice time, and you have no reason to be so upset," she threw down her purse in anger, missing the couch by a couple feet.

She had been calm the other times, reaching conclusions that he didn't want to be alone, didn't want his partner wasting time when she could be bettering herself... but couldn't he figure out that she was trying to make herself happy?

He grunted, walking out of the living room and into the kitchen. "There isn't anything to eat," he said, leaning against the wall opposite the kitchen entryway.

"Are you..." She blinked a few times, trying to allow what he said to sink in a bit more. "Are you kidding me? You made me end my date quickly in order to make your  _dinner_?" she asked, getting madder and madder by the second. "Why do you do this to me? I'm not your caretaker, your wife! You're nineteen! You can,  _at the very least_ , make yourself a sandwich. You have the basic survival training, even if I'm gone for a few hours. That's not the real reason and you know it."

"So what if that's not the real reason?" he asked, regarding her with wary eyes. "That dickhead doesn't deserve you. No one deserves you."

"Could you not call him names?" she crossed her arms under her bust, giving him a stern look. "He hasn't done a single thing to you. I don't understand why you're so against me being happy."

"Do you love him?" he asked without batting an eyelash. Deep, emotional questions that required lots of thought and speculation never phased him, but questions involving training methods and food, he took forever with.

"W-What? I barely know him! How could I love someone in that short amount of time?" Her eyebrows furrowed, confusion and alarm clear across her features. She had no clue what he was getting at, and when it came to him trying to sort out problems by himself, there was always a point he was trying to make that was so far off base it left her guessing until he bluntly pointed it out as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe.

He pushed off of the wall, slowly walking towards her. "But... you love me, right?"

Was that the point he was trying to pull from her? She nodded slowly. "...but I don't understand what this has to do with anything." In which way did she love him? Did she love him as a partner? Of course. Did she love him as a friend? Yes, undoubtedly. Did she love him like a woman loves a man? Was she attracted to him?

Another step closer. "Take my word for it, he's a dickhead."

She felt like being defiant to get a rise out of him. "If you explain why, I'll take your word for it."

They were now nose-to-nose, his eyes dark as they bore into hers."He fucks around, he's dirty, and I'm not giving you up to anyone."

She waited for the "like that" that should've been at the end of his sentence, and frowned when there was silence. "Excuse me?" Despite her need to find out the true motive behind his words, and even though she could feel it coming, she couldn't look away from him even if it would save her life. Would a woman react this way to a man she had unwavering platonic feelings toward?

There was a desperation in his eyes that she had seen a few times before, but for completely different reasons. When a weakness was found before it was overcome, when a losing streak occurred... she would feel this jolt of compassion for him, to help him. Now, they were for her, and she couldn't tell if she was allured or afraid of what those eyes could mean to her. He didn't respond as he worked on closing the distance between them, stopping short the instant she spoke.

"Who said I was ever yours?" she asked, her eyes set on his, the usually tranquil ocean raging in a storm.

His hand slammed against the wall to the left of her head, his eyes blazing, and if she hadn't already been used to his erratic, unpredictable behavior, she might have jumped in fear or shock; staying perfectly still, she waited for his outburst. Only when she was about to continue speaking did he make his move. As she inhaled, he moved with the direction of the air current, pressing his lips forcefully against hers in their first kiss. She had no time to react, no time to regroup or rethink the situation, as his hand grabbed her hips to hold her steady; it was if he was holding her there just in case she would disappear. The urgency and need within his kiss was overwhelming; if she wasn't trembling slightly herself, she would feel the slight shake in his stance (or realize that his hands on his hips were more for his benefit than hers).

Whenever Tsubaki went out on these "dates" the cord of semblance of normalcy in their partnership frayed, string by string, until it came down to the last dwindling thread before being in danger of snapping entirely. He had listened to the laughter, the giggling, as she said goodnight to those morons; the cutesy little kisses on the cheek–or daresay, the lips–killed him the most.

At first, he thought he was solely protecting her from the scum of the Earth, reaching down from heaven to show his angel the righteous path to him (or something along those lines).

When time progressed and he had more time to think, he realized the emotion that flooded through him was jealousy; that jealousy grew to envy, and that envy turned to possessiveness.

It wasn't as if she was something he could possibly own, but he knew that he couldn't bear sharing her with anyone. He wanted to have his cake and eat it, too. Tsubaki deserved someone who would look out for her, know her power and appreciate it to the utmost degree. None of those assholes knew the little things that she did to keep him in line... like, how, whenever he fell asleep on the couch, she would cover him with a blanket so he wouldn't catch a chill; how, whenever he had been training for a prolonged period of time, she would have a bath waiting for him... even if he wanted to protect him, she was always one step ahead of him with needs he never knew he had. Eventually, he caught on, and realized one need she would never figure out for him.

He even could have been afraid of winding up alone. Now, when he found out that the sleazeball of the town (under the age of twenty) was after Tsubaki,  _his_ Tsubaki... that cord snapped magnificently. No longer would he leave this up to chance. As a believer of creating and shaping your own destiny, he decided that action was needed. He was the star of the show, not waiting on the sidelines for something to happen in his favor.

When he thought all hope had been lost, and he had just forfeited everything they had been through for this rotten impulse, she kissed him back. She understood, and he felt the weight lift off of his shoulders.


	14. Neck

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Maka/Soul

 **Theme** : 23. Neck

September 22, 2009

* * *

"Call me 'Angel' or else," she growled, keeping her hand on his chest to force him to stay at a distance. His body may have been back further, but his lips were currently latched to her neck. He shifted only slightly, with what little force she used to move him back, dragging his teeth along her skin. The drag and pull brought a tingle that shot straight down her spine, making her shiver.

She squirmed, half-hating and half-loving the amount of power he held over her. Her head was tilted to one side to provide him more access; and when she realized this, she felt slightly ashamed she gave into him so quickly.

As the one who usually held him and controlled him-having the tables turned-she needed a taste of her usual power trip in order to feel better about the situation.

"No," she felt, more than heard, against her neck. She frowned. Her hand on his chest had more force now. Flat-palmed, she shoved him back a couple steps. She realized, belatedly, that they were standing in their living room; and, in retrospect, that she didn't know how they moved from the front door to their present location.

Soul had mentioned something dirty about her straddling him in weapon form like the closet pervert he was, and when she just rolled her eyes with a smile he felt like it was alright to back her slowly, predatorily, into a corner.

Why had she kissed him back in haste? If she was still trying to fool herself that she had no feelings for her weapon and partner, she would attempt to rationalize how her body had a mind of its own, but... she knew that, when it came to him, she wouldn't bother putting up a fight.

"Why not?" she breathed, openly wondering why he wouldn't give into something, just one thing that she wanted from him. He would argue otherwise.

"You're kinda cute when you pout like that," he responded, ignoring her query. Lacing his fingers through the fringe on her forehead, he brushed it out of the way before kissing his way from her forehead, down her cheeks, tracing her jaw, finally returning to her lips.

"Oh," they kissed again, "really?" and again. She tried to speak through their kisses, but found herself too preoccupied to even care. He noised his agreement in a low rumble she felt against her chest, and she melted against him.

"But," he began, moving to place his lips against her neck again, "if there was any woman I would call my Angel, no matter how crazy she is, it would be you."

She blinked a couple times in order to try and clear her mind and recognize what he had just said to her. "Are you being romantic?"

He nipped at her skin. "Is it working?"

"Keep talking."


	15. Truth

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki, Maka, Soul

**Theme** : 36. Truth

_November 24, 2009_

* * *

Alcohol was never and yet always the answer.

"Let's play 'Never Have I Ever' or somethin'. Sittin' around and watchin' TV is _boring_  as hell," Black Star groaned, tipping his drink back, finishing the mixture of rum and Coke. "I wan' learn shit that I don't know 'bout you guys."

"Black Star? Learning?" Maka balked, snorting into her glass. "You  _must_  be drunk."

"How 'bout you shut the fuck up," the assassin responded, glaring in her general direction until a fresh drink was placed into his hands by his partner who had reentered the room. He grinned cheekily at her, raising his glass to her in a silent toast before taking a generous gulp.

"Let's just do this before he thinks of something more dangerous to do," Soul shrugged, tilting his head towards Maka. They all knew about the incident where Black Star had taken off down the street naked after a good number of shots, and he figured for Tsubaki's sake they would simmer down with the crazy; her face had been red for a straight week after that had happened.

"What are we doing before Black Star becomes dangerous?"

"I'm always dangerous!"

"Playing a game. All you have to do is put five fingers up on one hand, and then say something that you know'll get another person out. For example, I could say, 'never have I ever been a weapon,' and as a result you and Soul would have to put a finger down 'cause you're both weapons. The person who loses has to chug their drink, no arguments. Get it?"

Tsubaki nodded. "Alright."

Each held a hand up, five fingers extended.

"Who goes first?"

"I will," Maka said. "I like these games the best, anyway, even though  _he_ ," she jerked her hand in Black Star's direction, "suggested it." She paused, thinking for about ten seconds before she said, "Never have I ever run down the street naked covered in blue paint."

Black Star frowned, putting a finger down. "You're targeting me!"

"Oh, shut up," Maka replied, rolling her eyes. "You do better."

"Never have I ever had blonde hair," Black Star shot back with an arrogant smirk. "Ha!"

"Who's targeting who?"

"Uh… never have I ever… been an only child?" Tsubaki offered, shrugging weakly at her suggestion. "That works, right?"

Black Star and Maka put a second finger down, and while doing so, Maka nodded. "That works, Tsubaki."

"Wait, can we make this ten fingers? Five is boring," Soul said.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Alright, cool. Never have I ever… had long hair."

Tsubaki put a finger down, but Maka tried to argue. "Wait, how long is 'long'?"

"Long enough. Put a finger down."

Heaving a sigh, she complied. "Whatever. Never have I ever been walked in on while masturbating when I thought it'd be cool while my partner was still in the apartment."

"That's mean. I didn't know you were home," Soul frowned. "Uncool. So uncool," he complained, putting down a finger.

Their focus was mostly on Soul, so no one noticed another person's finger go down. "Well, that's what you get for blinding me on a Monday morning."

"I didn't do it  _at_  you! I thought you left already!"

"You might as well have! I had to hear you!"

"And what's the problem? This is…" Black Star giggled as he leaned back on his hands, legs crossed in front of him. "Priceless, price—" He spied Tsubaki whose cheeks were…

"Oh  _yeah!_ " He remembered something that had previously fled his mind."Nah, nah, you put your finger back up that didn't end in the same way," Black Star said before sitting up properly. He reached for her hand, pulling her finger back up.

The bickering ceased between the other pair.

"What didn't end in the same way?" Soul asked, his hand still on the pigtail of Maka's that he was tugging. "You mean you actually got—"

"Why did you have to say that out loud?" Tsubaki groaned. "Secret! Secret!"

He seemed in deep thought for a second, then said slowly, "'Your secret is safe with-'" His hand flew over his mouth. "Shit."

The dark-haired girl frowned, crossing her arms underneath her breasts. "The one thing I ask…"

"Ah! No! I didn't mean it! Honest! It slipped!"

"Uh, what the hell is going on?" Maka and Soul looked between each other and then back at their friends, confused.

"Tsubaki wasn't… and then Black Star… and what the hell?" Soul put together, eyes almost popping out of their sockets. "You've got to be kidding me. You did!"

"Tsubaki!"

"I wish I never started playing this game," she sighed. Tipping back her fruity, mixed drink, she slammed her cup on the table. "All done! Who wants more? I'll go get some." She stood, wobbling at the rush as it swirled around her head, but making her way back into the kitchen regardless—with Black Star in toe.

"You 'mbarrased?"

"Yes," she said, frowning as his arms snaked around her. His chin rested on her shoulder before he brushed his lips against her neck. "Come on…"

"Why you 'mbarrased?"

"You know why."

"Alrigh', alrigh'. Game over…" He paused. "'Til we get back home."

Unable to resist for long, she acquiesced, "Until we get home, then."

He pulled away, and before leaving, he ruffled her hair in an endearing way that made her smile. "That's my girl."

When she reentered the room with a refreshed drink, the conversation had shifted, and the pleasant buzz was back. Alcohol was also helpful in resetting conversations, she reasoned.


	16. Scrape

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Spirit, Kami, mentions of Maka

 **Theme** : 02. Scrape

_January 7, 2010_

__

* * *

 

He had done it again. No matter how many times she scolded him for his actions, threatened that she was going to take their daughter and run… she had given him entirely too many chances in hopes his old loyalty to her would shine through this darkness.

It didn't.

Spirit had come home, drunk again, with the smell of cigarettes following him wherever he went in the apartment. He tried to lie, playing up the smell of cigarettes to his childhood friend, but she didn't believe him. She never believed him. It was a shame, she mused, that she couldn't trust her husband with the simplest of truths.

Lies.

He had staggered into their daughter's bedroom to kiss her goodnight, knowing fully well that she had gone to bed hours before. He was never considerate of others.

Never.

He had shut her door with a light click, making exaggerated motions to be quiet to his wife. She rolled her eyes, waling into the next room and sitting down at the kitchen table.

He leaned against the wall, a 'come hither' look on his face and a lazy smile grew. "Come here."

"Excuse me?"

He motioned for her again. "Come on, come here. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Like you could get it up when you're that drunk," she scoffed as she rolled up her sleeves.

"Hey!" he said loudly, frowning at her before realizing he was being loud. "Shh," he scolded, more to himself than to her.

"I need to talk to you, so you come here," Kami said, pointing at the chair in front of her. She spoke to him as if he were a child.

"But, sweet—"

"Don't call me that. Just sit your ass over here." She jabbed her finger in the direction of the empty chair again. "We need to talk."

"… about?" he asked, slowly lowering himself into the chair.

She sighed, pushing a piece of paper across the table that he hadn't noticed until he heard the noise of it moving. The empty envelope was lying idly by. "Like you need to ask what's wrong."

"What…" He swallowed thickly, already knowing what was coming but not wanting to deal with those consequences. "This better be some kind of bill or invitation," he said, looking up at her with frantic eyes.

"I'm filing for divorce. I  _was_  going to take Maka with me, but she needs to wash the idea of her 'perfect Daddy' out of her mind. She stays with you."

"You can't do this! How are you any better than I am by leaving your daughter behind?"

"I can't do this? What else do you want from me? My soul? You had everything else and you forfeited it to slum around with the local call girls. I'm not putting up with it anymore. I'm going to achieve  _my_ dreams and  _my_ goals. We were too young for this. We were never truly cut out to be parents, much less get married. So, you reap what you sew. I'll be gone in the morning."

He slammed his hands on the table, eyes wide trying to search hers for repentance. "How selfish. We can try! I'll stop! I promise, I'll stop—"

"Selfish? How dare you even say such a thing." She stood, the legs of the chair scraping roughly against the floor as she pushed it back. "There's nothing left to give."


	17. Blame

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki, child

**Theme** : 26. Blame (the idea of it)

_February 4, 2010_

* * *

There are people who wish to be like their parents when they have children; or, just claim they were adopted and have nothing to do with them. There are different methods to raising children, different means of growth and learning techniques to use.

Black Star was neither case; being a man of almost thirty—numbers meant nothing to him, he had seen and heard many things in his lifetime that had shaped his character. The one component he did not have, however, was a parental figure.

Maybe that was why he was so loud and outlandish as a child. He had no one to follow the example of, no one but himself. There was that drive, that push to be the best, which may have been hereditary but glossed over in thought. He eventually got some sense knocked into him–surely literally–and righted the course of his life.

Sure, there were people in his life that could be considered parental figures, but none of them carried the values that he wanted to teach his own offspring. Well, not… in the specific ways he wanted them to be taught. So, he decided to do something different: right the wrongs of his past through being someone his father was not. Black Star, after much thinking, had figured that his mother had met an early demise in a most unfortunate way... probably as a result of the clan, his father, or childbirth.

So, when Tsubaki had told him, shy and afraid, that she was late (and a half-hour discussion as to what 'being late' for a woman was), he more or less worshiped the ground she walked on. He wanted to be there for her even if he didn't completely understand what she was going through. He knew the end result, and that was all that mattered. It didn't matter that he was young. He was a man, and men stood up for themselves and dealt with the consequences of their actions. He was the man among men, standing tall to accept what life had in store for him. He would never run. Tsubaki didn't expect him to try and get out of the situation, knowing the type of person he was, but she didn't foresee him being so gung-ho about it, either.

The years practically melted together when their little girl grew.

He had originally wanted a son–as all men do. However, when this little girl of his began to walk, climb, and scream that she was "in love with her Daddy" and "no one would ever be as good as her Daddy in a million years" he couldn't help but adore the little brat, mood swings, pink dresses and all. With a little ponytail on the top of her head and bright green eyes, she would leap over furniture and cause hell for her mother, who was still as patient as a saint.

Now eight years old, she was as quick as a whip and sure to be a knockout (both in skill and appearance), and Black Star wasn't too sure he liked that. She looked like her mother and acted like her father. She wasn't all talk, and stood for what an eight year old believed in. Which… could, most of the time, be off the mark of reality and propriety.

Therefore, when he received a phone call from her school claiming that she got into a 'minor altercation,' whatever the hell that was, Black Star had to go pick her up and talk to her teacher. While talking to a teacher why fighting was 'bad' and that it 'should never happen,' her words went in one ear and out the other of both of the individuals in the room.

He was proud of her. Tsubaki would kill him for it, but he was proud of her. Aya was fidgeting in her chair, knowing what she did was wrong but not wanting any more to do with the situation.

Tsubaki was waiting, hands on her hips, when they had come back to the house. Before snapping at her daughter—though, more at her husband—she heard the entire story of how a boy at school bullied her, saying untrue things about her family. She could understand why her daughter would be upset, but to fight back and rough up the little boy was out of the question, especially when she was in a normal school that did not specialize in fighting of any kind—not yet, at least.

When they found out that it was Soul and Maka's son… that made the story more interesting.

"You march over there right now and apologize. I don't care if he's not home yet; I want you to go apologize to Aunt Maka and Uncle Soul. You tell one of them to call here to prove you were there. Face to face. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mama," the little girl said, lowering her head. Being a soft woman, Tsubaki put her hand on her daughter's shoulder, whispering her love before kissing the crown of her head. "I'll go now."

"Don't let me hear otherwise." Tsubaki nodded in finality, making a move to return to what she was doing—some sort of cleaning—before this occurred.

"Apologize," he started loudly for Tsubaki to hear in the other room, then dropped his voice so only Aya would hear, "for nothing. Go rough 'im up! Fight 'til he knows who's boss."

"I'm not that far out of the room, Black Star," he heard and immediately tensed up at the voice of his wife.

He grinned, ushering the little girl out the door after she followed that with a shout of, "I need to talk to you, Black Star!"

Shoving his hand in his pocket, he pulled out a small wad of money. "Take this and get ice cream or something to kill time before the kid gets home."

"Why, Daddy?"

"Do you want you mother to be mad anymore? I can make it go away. Now, you, just go."

"Will I get a brother or sister?"

"Black Star!"

"Go, go!"


	18. Lies

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Soul/Maka

**Theme** : 37. Lies

_February 6, 2010_

__

* * *

 

"You're nauseating," he said, and with every step forward, she took one back. He loomed over her, much taller than he used to be. Much stronger.

"You're flat-chested, bossy, a know-it-all, can't cook…"

He stepped forward, pushing her closer to the kitchen wall. "You have bad taste in clothes—especially underwear; you can't give a guy a break when all he wants is to watch TV, you take forever-long showers, and—"

His hand slapped against the wall as her back hit it. Her eyes widened, but she wasn't scared, just surprised. She knew him; she knew that that something was being put together in his mind that needed to be dealt with. There was a need of his forcing its way out.

That was the amount of reasoning she came up with before his eyes narrowed at her.

"You're driving me crazy," he reasoned simply.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Crazy?"

"Did I say you could talk?"

"Did you say I couldn't?"

His eyes narrowed. "Don't speak until I tell you to."

She frowned, almost growling back at his bossiness. She wanted to fight back, give him hell like she always did, but there was something about his attitude that was making her refrain from doing so. She glared, hoping that enough of her confused unhappiness would be conveyed through her eyes.

"Don't like what I'm doing?"

She didn't respond.

"Good girl."

He leaned down, and in a flash his lips were on hers. She gasped at the sudden act, but invited him deeper by opening her mouth more to accept his tongue. They kissed until the need for air was essential.

"Mm…  _good_  girl," he purred. "You may talk."

"What the fuck is wrong with you? These games you play are ridiculous."

"You may now not talk anymore."

"No—" she began to protest, only to find his lips on hers again. She growled into the kiss before pushing against him roughly. "Soul!"

"Again."

"Soul, you moron!"


	19. Torn

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Soul/Maka

 **Theme** : 18. Torn

_March 17, 2010_

__

* * *

 

"At least we didn't switch into our partners. I've read enough novels to know that  _that_  never ends well," Maka said, sighing as she sat back, her legs wide open. She loved this being a guy thing; she didn't have to wonder if anyone could see up her skirt by the way she was sitting.

"You've read novels on this stuff?" Soul questioned, raising an eyebrow. He smoothed down the front of his skirt, clearing his throat. "Wait, so you actually get off on guys looking so weak and tiny?"

"Who are you calling weak and tiny? Or did you think I didn't notice that you're flat-chested? Hypocrite," Maka huffed, crossing her arms in an unmanly-like way over her now-broad, still-flat chest.

Soul's eyes widened with something that was a mix of a squeak and a gasp coming from his throat. It was the girliest noise he had ever made in his life. He would chalk it up to the fact that his penis was missing and that his voice was higher now. Aw, man! He hadn't thought of that. He was now torn between trying to argue against Maka's accusation and feeling himself up to see exactly how he had shifted around, but… he wisely chose the first option to save, at least,  _some_  face.

"Maybe I've just hung around with you too much to not appreciate large—"

"Lies. We live with Blair and you actually see her breasts over mine."

"That's not entirely—"

"You peep at me in the shower?" her voice rose, making a move to stand up. "Soul!"

Soul shiftily eyed their friends surrounding them who were in conversations of their own. He reached his hands out to keep his partner down, an invisible push. "Maka, we're not alone. Do you mind not getting into this argument right now?" He figured that Black Star and Tsubaki were having somewhat of a similar situation with how Black Star was trying to get his partner to grope his newly formed breasts. Why couldn't he get breasts like those? Of course not! Wait, why did he want breasts for himself again? Soul just wanted his dick back.

Maka frowned, deciding to let the argument go for the sake of the situation. "Fine. We're going to talk about this if we ever get back to our apartment."

"If we ever get back?"

"You never know what could happen when messing with the Seven Deadly Sins. Lust would knock Papa out so fast, and we don't know if any of us have severe vices like that. We don't know what will happen. Pride might get Black Star, you know, if you think about it. None of us are really safe. Some keep their vices to themselves."

"Valid point," Soul conceded, sitting down next to Maka on the ground. After a few failed attempts to right himself, he asked, "How can I sit without flashing everyone?"

Maka raised a brow. "You're worried about flashing people?"

He shrugged. "Let's see the damage," he said, lifting his skirt to see panties with little hearts on them. "Wow, this… alternate universe thing is really thorough."

Maka blushed, looking away. She knew what panties looked like—hell, she had enough pairs to open a store, but seeing them on Soul meant something else, especially with the new appendage that she already had to coach mentally to _stay the fuck down_. "This is so weird. I'm used to you walking around in your boxers."

"I can still do that," Soul laughed, lowering his skirt. He seemed pleased with his statement, but after a few seconds his expression fell. "I think I'm liking this switch a little too much."

"Now I can pee standing up," Maka shrugged, trying to see the bright side in her own situation. "I wouldn't get my period, either." She sighed, "I'm sure the second we get used to this we'll switch back. However, we need to figure out what we have to do here to get Death the Kid back and out of this book."

With a great exhale, Maka stood. Grinning down at her partner, she extended her hand. "Milady?"

Soul rolled his eyes, taking her hand nonetheless. "You're a bastard."

"And you're a pretty, pretty princess."

"Excuse me?"

Maka grinned, looking as if she were about to bolt at the first sign of a challenge. "Princess! Pretty, pretty princess!"

Soul glared, and when he tried to make a grab for her, Maka ran. Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult? "Get back here!"

* * *

 **Note** : I kept the pronouns set to their original sexes because I would've had entirely too much trouble keeping up with using their names with opposite genders. I hope it didn't throw you off too much!


	20. Changing

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

**Theme** : 20. Changing (as in bodies)

_April 10, 2010_

* * *

Everyone had been trying to adjust. That much was certain. Soul and Maka were having some kind of argument, Tsubaki saw, and the Thompson sisters were striking poses they thought were more or less manly. Mostly less, but the focus of her attention was hardly on any of them—they were just glanced at fleetingly in a quick catalogue of persons. No, the focus of Tsubaki's attention was on her partner… who was currently feeling himself up. She didn't know whether to be amused or horrified.

"Tsubaki! Why don't you let me do this to you? It feels good! We can count it as training! Relaxation!" Black Star grinned, speaking while he grasped his breasts, moving them and testing their weight in his hands as if it were the most common thing in the world to do in front of people.

"Black Star…" she began, pressing her fingertips to her forehead with a sigh. She closed her eyes. Maybe she would wake up from this dream and everything would be back to normal.

"What? I'd do this to you any time of any day. Here! Try!"

Tsubaki didn't know whether or not she should cringe or yell once her eyes shot open at the contact. She chose to do neither when her hand rested on, then was forced to grasp Black Star's newly blossomed breast. She chose to keep a blank look, with a borderline glare, on her face.

"Black Star."

"I don't know if it's the female-ness talking, but you look sexy like that."

"Black Star!"

"Do you think everyone would freak out if I took my clothes off?" Black Star asked innocently, suddenly changing topic. When Tsubaki didn't answer with anything other with a blank look, he continued, "I gotta see! I'm too constricted! How do you do this every day? How can you live like this normally?"

"Stop it."

Black Star was tugging at his cowl in order to try and look down his tight shirt. "Why?"

He leaned forward enough so that Tsubaki's eyes automatically zoned in on the soft curves. She had seen breasts before! Ones just like these! Why was this happening? She didn't even stop at the thought that those breasts resembled hers; she had known that he enjoyed breasts on the larger side. After all, "why surpass the gods if you can't have a great pair of tits to go home to?" His words, not Tsubaki's. She refused to cook dinner that night, but that was beside the point.

Tsubaki's eyes widened as she realized something she had been trying to ignore was stirring. She didn't want to think of this. No, no, no, no…

"Oh, that? Come on, Tsubaki. It happens all the time! Hey, let's go take a bath and I can help you get rid of it."

"Black Star! That's indecent!"

"And?"

"Plus, where do you think a bath is going to appear? We're in the Book of Eibon! Be practical."

Black Star huffed, pouting cutely at his partner. "You're no fun. You need to loosen up."

Tsubaki took a deep, calming breath. Those green eyes were a new weakness paired with those lips. "You're going to be the death of me. You know that, right?"

Black Star grinned. Suddenly, he reached down to cup a hand over his crotch. "Wait a second." His expression changed to one of severe confusion. "How do you get off like this? Is it hidden?"

Tsubaki had to sit down.


	21. Love

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Theme** : 31. Love

_May 10, 2010_

__

* * *

 

She sat on the couch, legs curled up underneath her as she leafed through a magazine. Barely paying attention to the text on the pages, she absentmindedly flipped page after page, watching the colors change.

"So. We have something we need to talk about, you."

Tsubaki turned, craning her neck to see her partner leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen. "We do?"

"Something's been on my mind ever since we came back from that damned book."

She closed the magazine and letting it rest on her lap. She knew where this was going.

"It took me a couple of chapters of that book to turn back, but you didn't turn back until the last chapter."

She rolled her eyes. He had tried to approach this topic a few times, coming a bit short of sound reasoning. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. "Black Star. Again? Really?"

"No! I want to know! You're a horny girl. Why did you hide that from me? I'm hurt. The big me is  _hurt_!" he frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Both you and Liz are freaks, but you were the one who didn't turn back until the last minute! What else are you hiding from me? What do you do when I'm not around?"

"Is this really a big deal?"

When he didn't know about this, he was a lot easier to control his outbursts. He would assume she was a morally upstanding woman, holding her chastity in check. Now that she was betrayed by an outside source—how was she supposed to know that she was going to be dropped into a book that could sense her deepest desires? She couldn't go back to the place where they used to be.

"Of course it is! You keep shit from me, and I thought that I was… I thought I was bad enough, and here you are!" he yelled, startling her with his outburst… especially when it held a bit of truth to it.

"Black Star—"

"Why?" he demanded. His eyes were fixed on hers, and if she didn't know him any better she would have broken a sweat. Those eyes, that face… they would be the death of her. They would do her in.

"Why…?" she repeated, eyebrows furrowed. "Why what?"

"Why wouldn't you tell me? I need a good reason."

She frowned. Like she could tell him the real reason. "Black Star."

He looked away dramatically. "I feel like I don't know you."

"W-What? But you do! You know me the best-"

"I bet Maka knew."

Tsubaki frowned, shifting to a sitting position. She scoffed. "Maka would explode if she knew exactly what goes through my head."

"But I didn't know this?" As an afterthought, he added, "Explode?"

He was hurt that she didn't share… this? It may not have been all that important to her, to their mission, but it hurt him that she wasn't open about her sexuality? He wanted to know that she secretly got off when she knew that he was watching her bathe, that he wanted to watch her bathe, maybe even bathe with her?

"I didn't know that it would pain you so much to not know."

"Well, it does," he said, moving from the doorframe and sitting down on the couch with a huff. He probably would've pouted if he were a normal human being.

"You don't talk about feelings too much, either, Black Star."

She could hear him plenty when he thought he was alone in the house. The only thing he knew how to use the Internet for was to look up porn.

"Yeah, well, this has been eating at me for a while now. You should tell me more about yourself, horny girl," he leered at her.

"Maybe this is why I didn't tell you anything?"

"No, no!"

There was a long pause.

"Do you… have any… toys?"

"Black Star!" she gasped, and on reflex pushed him away from her.

"If I check your room right now—"

"You will do no such thing!" she said, standing up suddenly. She all but sprinted to her room.

He was hot on her trail without so much as a second thought.

"You're going to hide something!"

"If you follow me into my room, I swear to Shinigami-sama that I will render you immobile!" she threatened, trying to shut the door in his face. He pushed back, obviously not using all of his strength—she would be on her ass already if he had done so.

"Come on! We can have playtime! Count it as training!"

She couldn't let him know that this was exciting her. She was horrible. She almost moaned out loud at her brain's progression deeper and deeper into the gutter.

She smirked, and then continued to play indignant. "Handcuffs aren't playtime!"

There was a pause. "Handcuffs? Oh, please! I've never wanted anything more in my life! Please, please!"

Oh, his desperation… it was delicious. "No!" she shouted in mock-exasperation. "Why do you want to know so badly? What would you even get out of this other than my utter humiliation?"

Was she really a masochist? He could be a sadist when he wanted to be.

"Do you really have to ask me that, Tsubaki?" he asked, voice suddenly soft. He stopped pushing on her door, making it slam in his face at her exertion. After a view seconds of surprise, she slowly cracked open the door. She peeked out to see him still there with a look she had never seen on his face.

"Black Star?"

He shifted side-to-side impatiently, as if he was anxious to be somewhere else. "Can we start this over? I don't want to fight. Not like this. Do over?"

Tsubaki's head was spinning. "You… oh. Okay, sure?"

He pulled the door shut the second she agreed, and she stood back simply blinking at what had just gone on.

There was a knock. She shook her head with a soft smile at his behavior, but opened the door after a pause. "Yes, Black Star?"

"I think I'm in love with you," he blurted out before spinning on his heel and almost running down the hallway.

Stunned, Tsubaki couldn't move for a good ten seconds before it clicked.

"Get back here right now!" she yelled, not moving from her room. She wouldn't. That would mean that she was dreaming since she was likely to start floating. This couldn't happen. Could it? It started as a fight about one thing and became something entirely different—or was it?

A couple of minutes later, her uncharacteristically reluctant partner shuffled up to her. She stared him down until he spoke. "Yeah, I messed up."

"Says who?"

He looked up, surprised. "What?"

Tsubaki shifted weight from one leg to the other, her hands crossed under her bosom. "Where did this come from, all of a sudden?"

"What? Asking about the book?"

He could play dumb but not  _that_  dumb. "No, the confession."

"It… can I not say?" he asked, a watery smile on his face. He was genuinely nervous. Where were the cameras for this moment?

"No," Tsubaki firmly replied.

"I… couldn't… stop thinking about you… in  _that_  way, and…" He frowned, "I don't have to tell you!"

"If you want me to respond to your confession, you definitely are. Especially if you want me to admit anything to you  _ever_."

"I just got this burn in my gut. I knew telling you…  _that_ … would stop. It didn't, though. It's worse."

She smiled, realizing what he meant: lust. "You know your heart isn't in your gut, right?"

"Then… oh wait, that was… nevermind. Seriously, how did you turn back later than I did and you have it all together? I just don't get it."

"Black Star?"

The Man Who Surpassed God (yet not his libido) sighed, "Yeah. I messed up."

Smiling, she opened the door wider so she could step out of it completely. "No, you didn't." She had been waiting for this. She didn't want to lead him on, push her emotions onto him and instigate something superficial, when he didn't feel anything for her. Now, she knew. Now, she could. Tilting her head, she took a step forward to press her lips to his cheek. "You didn't mess up."

"I didn't," he responded as if he didn't believe what he was saying.

With a coy smile, she added, "But you have to earn the first-hand knowledge of why I was the last to turn back. Deal?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely."


	22. Insatiable

**Theme** : 12. Insatiable

_July 17, 2010_

__

* * *

 

Soul drummed his fingers on the table. "Wait, so you guys… sleep together?"

"Not like that, man," Black Star waved Soul off, chuckling before taking a large gulp of his soda. "Just in the same bed. When I trashed my room last year we just got a bigger bed to put in her room. I think she stores shit in there that won't fit in her room anymore after I brought my clothes over."

Soul gave his friend a blank look, that meant to the young assassin absolutely nothing, but signified that Soul didn't believe any of this. "Cozy," he said with a sarcastic edge.

"You're tellin' me." He took another sip, then pushed his drink forward as he leaned back in the booth of the diner they were occupying. "Now that I know she's a horny girl, I don't know if I'm still in tact, if you know what I mean."

Soul snorted in laughter. "In tact? What are you, a woman? I thought you'd be all over  _her_."

Black Star reeled at the insinuation of being a woman. "No! Don't get me wrong, I love every minute of it—"

Soul held up a hand to halt Black Star's sentence. "Then… what's the complaint?"

He thought for a solid minute. Soul counted. It looked like a painful process. "I don't know."

"There's something really wrong in your head," Soul responded, shaking his head.

"Why does everyone tell me that?" Black Star yelled, slamming his hands down on the table. People turned to look, but they didn't even notice.

"Well, now that you know she's a perv, are you going to still sleep in the same bed as her?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked.

"You said something before about how you had to watch yourself. Or, at least, someone told me that. Kilik, I think." Black Star made no move to speak. Soul continued, "You  _may_  get some action."

"I… may?"

"You didn't think of that before?"

He cleared his throat. "… obviously not."

"How do you call yourself male?"

Black Star scoffed. "Don't tell me about getting laid, virgin."

"You're one, too—"

"I don't know anymore, I may have been raped in my sleep, you know," he tried to rationalize. "How would I be able to know?"

"First of all, no. Second of all, it's Tsubaki. Third of all, no. Fourth of all, you can't rape the willing. You'd hit that in a hot second. Hell, if it weren't for a certain someone I'd want to hit that in a hot second."

"Please, like she'd waste her time with you. But those tits, man…"

"I know, I know. What's stopping you?"

"She may do me in. What if she never wants to stop?"

"You're saying she's insatiable, wanting to have sex every two seconds, and you're… not okay with this?"

"My dick might break off!" he shouted, drawing the stares of the diner's patrons yet again. He didn't notice.

After Soul had stopped laughing, which took about five minutes, he wiped the tears from his eyes to see Black Star glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, you're just retarded."

"You shut up, plebeian, or I  _will_  kick your ass."

"Plebeian? Who is teaching you these words?"

"Fuck that, and tell me what I need to do."

* * *

_To be continued…_


	23. Wrists

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

**Theme** : 24. Wrists

_August 8, 2010_

__

* * *

 

He had gone in with a game plan.

At least, he thought he had a game plan.

He was just going to pretend that nothing had happened. That he hadn't found out that his pervert—shit, his partner—wasn't a partner. Crap! A pervert! That his partner wasn't a pervert. There it was.

He was going to pretend that everything was exactly the same and that he hadn't been thinking about what his partner was doing whenever she claimed to be reading in her room, or gone for extended periods of time "shopping" or something. He wasn't going to think about her touching herself inappropriately, thinking about him, sweaty from working out… in a towel about to take a shower, his broad, muscled shoulders…

Wait.

Who was he fantasizing about, anyway? Himself? That was like masturbation.

Speaking of…

About five minutes later, give or take, refreshed yet relaxed, he decided to deal with his dilemma with a focused perspective. No more distractions. Oh, food! Right! Where was Tsubaki, anyway? It was past dinnertime and he hadn't been properly fed. He hoped she was alright, but…

Coming out of their shared bedroom, he saw her lying back on the couch. She had a book in her hands and appeared to be intently reading it—by the wonderful powers of deduction that Black Star possessed. The couch was made up like a bed, with sheets and a blanket and… wait, something wasn't right here.

"Tsubaki?"

"Hm?" she responded. After he didn't respond for a beat or two, she looked up to see him watching her with concerned eyes. Placing a finger to mark where she had stopped reading on the book, she then looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

"You're out here?"

"As it would seem."

"But… why aren't you in there?" he pointed to the bedroom's open door. "Where you should be?"

"Well…" Her voice was soft. She fumbled around for something, and after finding her bookmark, she put it into the book. Putting it on the coffee table, she swiveled around so she could face him. "I thought you wouldn't want me in there anymore. You know, all things considering. I was making due out here."

"Bullshit."

"What?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "You said it yourself before that—"

"Forget what I said. I've had some time to… well… think it over. I don't care. Come on. Let's go to bed," he waved her to follow as he turned to go back into the bedroom. When she didn't, he rushed out and took hold of her wrist to hoist her up. "Now." She followed reluctantly, but at least she didn't put up a fight.

If this were another time or place, he probably would've been turned on at how her small wrist felt against his hand, how demanding he was and how she was reacting to it. Now, he was just plain concerned. The big  _him_  was concerned with his partner.

It didn't help that he had Soul laughing in his head at his own personal worries.

If he opened this proverbial door, there would be no closing it. They were already the pair that surpassed many a failure, despite originally being failures themselves, and he wanted nothing to fuck that up.

Black Star already had squishy feelings about her, and if she had to restrain herself around his wonderful-ness in attempts to not jump his bones, then she must be trying to hold back squishy feelings, too. That was the only logical path of thinking to Black Star.

He led her to the bed, and she sat precariously on the edge as if being on the bed was taboo enough. Even though she had slept countless nights here, right there with him, it just felt too tense for her to relax, much less go to sleep.

"This is why I kept it a secret," she sighed, slumping forward. "I didn't want this to be weird. It's not like it's such a huge problem with everyone else, but with you… it's different."

"It doesn't have to be. We can use this to our advantage," he said as he sat down next to her. He put enough space between them so he could tug her away from the edge of the bed and still be comfortable.

She blinked a few times before asking, "Our advantage, Black Star?"

"Yeah! Think about it. Special training: one body, one mind, one soul. That's how the saying goes, right?" he asked.

She cleared her throat, her face heating up a bit at what he was insinuating. "Yeah," she said, averting her eyes before repeating, "Yeah."

"Now I don't have to worry so much about you." He patted her head affectionately, chuckling. "I thought you were all proper, timid and sheltered from your childhood. I thought I'd have to show you how to do everything."

"Black Star, stop kidding yourself."

He growled at her with a smirk, ruffling her hair with an emphatic motion. "You win, Nakatsukasa. You win."

"Actually," she began, pushing his hand away from her head as she took her hair out of its ponytail in order to fix it, "I wasn't all that bad when we first met. I knew what things were, how to do them, etcetera, but… I got it inside my head how you would want me to act, and—"

"Wait, what?"

She stopped combing her fingers through her hair. "You used to peep on me all the time when I was in the bath, and then that time you flashed my panties to Sid—"

"Wait. Wait.  _Wait_."

"What?"

"You… wait… it's my fault?" he stammered, eyes wide. "I'm afraid of my dick falling off and it's  _my fault_  that you've turned into a nymphomaniac?"

"You're afraid of  _what_?"

"Nothing," he responded quickly, waving his hand in front of her face dismissively. "You heard nothing. Absolutely nothing. If you repeat it I may have to kill you."

Tsubaki shook her head, laughter bubbling up within her. She couldn't help but giggle at him and his reaction. He was precious.

"Tsubaki!" he whined, using his patented man-pout on her. Despite the laughter being at his expense, it was breaking the tension. He was glad for that.

After a minute or so, her laughter died down and her grin was replaced by a soft smile.

He puffed out his chest with a frown, hoping to gain some manliness back, but then deflated with a sigh and a weak grin. "Well, you know… I guess I'm just going to have to take responsibility for my actions, now."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, skepticism heavy in her voice. She knew this meant trouble.

"What do you think I mean?"

"You look positively lecherous right now, Black Star. You don't mean…"

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Oh, I do mean."

"Black Star!" she gasped when he tackled her to the bed. "What in the—"

"Quiet. Training time. You know how seriously I take training time."

_**Black Star 1, Soul 0.**_

_**  
**_


	24. Whipped Cream

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Theme** : 14. Whipped Cream

_October 17, 2010_

__

* * *

 

At the chime of the bell on the door sounding, blue eyes met green. She had been staring at the door for the better part of fifteen minutes. He had just entered. Even if he didn't realize he was there to meet her, he couldn't ignore her. He walked over to her, significance in every step.

"This has to be some kind of joke," Black Star deadpanned, staring down at his partner who was sitting in a nearby booth.

She couldn't believe it. "W-What are you doing here, Black Star?" she asked, her voice squeaking against her better judgment. Maka wouldn't do this to her, would she?

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" he shot back at her, arms crossed over his chest.

She might as well tell the truth. She was a horrible liar. "Well, I, uh… Maka said that she would set me up on a blind date, y'know, to cheer me up and everything, so, uh… here I am."

Black Star shrugged. "Soul told me to come here to meet this hot chick he knows, as a blind… oh shit, I see what happened. They just got their places mixed up! D'ya think I should call him? See if he and Maka got their shit mixed up?" as he was asking, he already had his hand jammed into his pocket, searching for his phone.

Tsubaki raised a hand to stop him. When he didn't see that, eyes to the ceiling, tongue sticking out of his mouth—how deep was his pocket?—she stilled him with a hand on his arm. "I really don't think that's the point."

"What d'ya mean?" he asked, pulling his hand out of his pocket.

She took a deep breath. "I mean, I think that they set us up."

He began frantically looking around. "It's a trap?"

"No! Not that kind of 'set up', Black Star. Set us up  _together_."

He stopped looking around. "But why would they do that?" he asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Tsubaki sighed.

"Wait, to cheer you up? You need to be cheered up?"

 _There_  was a little more perception from Black Star. However…

"That's not the point," Tsubaki replied, waving her hand in dismissal.

A waitress stood by, looking back and forth between the two. "Is he with you?" she asked after clearing her throat to get their attention away from one another.

"Oh. Yes, he is. Sorry," Tsubaki said before gesturing for Black Star to sit down at the booth she was currently occupying. "Sit down."

"But I have to meet a hot chick, Tsubaki," he replied, though sitting down anyway.

"Look around. Are there any other girls here that are alone?" Tsubaki asked, gesturing with her hand to the rest of the seating area, which was rather small. There were a couple of middle school children sitting with their ice creams, but overall no one around their age. There was a couple on the other side of the room, but they were much older.

After scanning the room, his eyes landed on her. "Only you."

"And… do you think that Soul knows anyone other than me that's in this room?" she continued, her tone growing more and more exasperated with every question.

He shrugged. "Doubt it."

"Why is this not clicking?"

"Maybe because I don't necessarily want them to try and set us up."

That was the last thing she figured he would say. "I… what?"

"Maybe they should just mind their own damn business and fuck each other's brains out. Why do they have to meddle with us?"

After shushing him and pointing to the middle school children who were now staring, she scolded, "You don't need to put it that crudely."

"But, really. Why did they even bother—"

" _Why_  did you come, then?" she interrupted. Her eyebrows were knitted in thought before exclaiming, "Yeah! Why did you even come if you thought it was a ridiculous idea? How could you even entertain the idea that you were going to get something out of this?"

"Why are  _you_  here?" he asked.

"I'm here because… just because," she lamely responded, but with feeling. She didn't know if she wanted to tell him the exact reason just yet.

"Well, I wanted ice cream."

"That would explain it," she sighed, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she slumped to the side in what appeared to be defeat. His logic always won, no matter how dumb it sounded. She didn't have the strength left in her to fight. "Let's just eat and get out of here."

"Why are you here?" he asked again after a few minutes, nose deep within his menu. She had decided before he even arrived, as her menu was closed and neatly resting in front of her.

"Why does it matter?"

"Why are you avoiding the question?"

She sighed, figuring she could be vague and not lie. "I don't know, maybe to try and get over a crush."

"Crush?"

"Liking someone."

"Liking?"

"In love with. Just stop talking."

"Wait," he said, lowering his menu to stare at her intensely. "You're in love with someone?"

"Black Star…" she sighed.

"No," he shut his menu. "I—"

"Uh," a voice cut in. "Are you two ready to order?" the waitress asked, looking back and forth between the two. Awkward wasn't even close to being the word to describe the tension at the table.

After ordering and sending the waitress on her merry way, he began to stare at her again. "I want to say something, but I don't know how it'll come out."

"Probably wrong, but go ahead," Tsubaki said, smiling softly at him despite how much she wanted to rip her hair out in frustration.

"You're here because of Maka. Who knows who you love. Soul is up in Maka's business more than he scratches his own balls—"

"Stop."

"—and he was the one that sent me here."

"Yes."

"Okay," he said. He suddenly got up, alarming Tsubaki with his abrupt behavior. He walked over to the ice cream counter where he could see the waitress making their sundaes. Was he going to cancel his order and walk out? She watched him intently, using hand gestures she couldn't quite understand based on the situation, and came back to sit down. She gave him an expectant look, to which he simply grinned back at. Tsubaki was thoroughly confused.

When the waitress came back to their table, she was holding one large sundae and two spoons. Smiling, she placed the dessert in front of them with an, "Enjoy!" before retreating behind the counter.

Tsubaki stared at the giant mass of ice cream in front of her. Clutching the spoons—somehow she received them both—she tried to make sense of what just happened.

Black Star made grabby hands for his spoon. "Gimme."

"Oh," she squeaked, shaking her head to snap herself out of the daze she had put herself in. She handed him his spoon. "So... you understand now?"

He shoveled ice cream, covered in chocolate sauce and whipped cream, into his mouth. "This is our first date. I understand. That's why we have one ice cream… y'know, to share. Like a couple."

Tsubaki smiled, then pointed to a bit of whipped cream that was on the side of his mouth. She giggled when he tried to look at it, going cross-eyed, before successfully licking his lips clean.

"You're accepting this as a date even though you didn't want to be here?" she asked after eating a bit of her ice cream.

"I want to be here."

"But—"

"But nothing. I want to be here. With you."

She couldn't help but blush at his phrasing. After coughing into her hand in order to try and distract herself from the raging blush on her cheeks, she looked up at him. He was staring again.

He got up, out of his seat, to sit next to her on her side of the booth. Her eyes were wide at how forward he was being.

Her eyes almost bulged out of her head when he brought his lips to hers.

"You had some whipped cream on the side of your mouth," he explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

She blinked a couple of times, only realizing that he wasn't lying as he licked the whipped cream that he had retrieved from her lips off of his own.

"I could have just died from a heart attack at what you just did."

"I was being romantic," he pouted.

"Save that for our next date."


	25. Once More

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Main teams, no real pairings/only if you squint you'll see a couple of them.

**Theme** : 15. Once More

_November 10, 2010_

__

* * *

 

"Why are we here again?" Maka asked, her hand tugging on the microphone Black Star was hogging. "I don't know how much longer my ears can take this without bleeding."

"Shut," Black Star sang, each word being drawn out longer than the last, "up—Maka—at least—I don't—sound like a—dying cat! Oh baby!"

"What!" Maka shouted and made a quick move to attack the assassin, but was held back by Soul. With the swift tug to hold her back, she wound up in her partner's lap.

Liz and Patty were harassing Kid, who was judging how symmetrical the room was and freaking out about it; he wouldn't bother singing until he found perfection. However, the Thompson sisters' harassment included lots alcohol, courtesy of Blair. She was sitting cozy on the other side of Soul, taunting him and Maka for their newly acquired position, squealing how "they should just do it already!" Crona just hid behind the couch.

Tsubaki watched the whole scene with half-lidded eyes, wondering how they had all made it to this point. Black Star's song ended; she didn't know how many of the words he actually sang, but she clapped a couple times for him in support. Black Star threw the microphone at Maka, who yelped when it knocked her head, before grabbing the cup Tsubaki had been drinking out of.

After taking a large gulp, he coughed. "Tsubaki, this isn't water!"

"It's not? I've been drinking it all night," she said, smiling at him. She giggled, and then waved the idea off with a flit of her hand.

"Alright, who spiked her drink?" Black Star said, swinging around, not even bothering to scan his friends before landing on Blair who was pretending to look innocent and failing.

"Oh, forget about it," Tsubaki sighed, tugging Black Star back to sit down next to her. "Just sing with me! Once more! After Soul and Maka get their turn, and whoever else wants to sing, so it'll be fair."

"If you say so…" he responded, unsure. Taking her cup, he continued to drink. "We're getting more of this, right?"

"Yes, yes."


	26. Eyelashes

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Theme** : 25. Eyelashes

_November 27, 2010_

__

* * *

 

Tsubaki had been gone for far too long. He had coped, in the best ways he could, by working out, hanging around with Soul and his other friends, and eating copious amounts of food. All he did was try to distract himself from her being away from home. He didn't realize that he was so reliant on her—which came as a shock, since he should've come to that conclusion earlier—especially when it came time for bed.

Black Star didn't realize how difficult it was to go from regularly sleeping in the same bed as someone, to sleeping alone. The bed was a lot larger without her there. The bed was a lot colder. He didn't like it.

Jumping like a puppy at the jingle of keys at the lock, he sped from the kitchen to the opening front door. Without even waiting even so much as a second or a single footstep, he attacked. The bags she was holding, as well as her keys, dropped to the floor when his strong arms reached around her. Tsubaki chuckled, after her initial gasp, returning the embrace. It had been a long time, too long for them; she had been worried what her absence would result in. Though, now, she wasn't sure that her leaving was necessarily a bad thing. It evoked this kind of response from him, at least.

"I missed you," she heard, a little lower than where she had assumed his mouth was going to be. Her eyes snapped open when she felt him nestled in her cleavage.

"I missed you, too, but can I ask what you're doing?"

As if it were the most obvious and simple thing in the world, he responded, "Recharging."

"You're unbelievable," she chuckled softly, patting his head. Her fingers were lost in his blue spikes, which were a lot softer than they looked. She tried not to shudder at the feel of his eyelashes—at least, that's what she thought they were—flutter against her skin, along with the steady warmth of his breathing. "That's all you missed about me?"

"You know that's not true, Tsubaki," he said, still snuggling with her breasts. She rolled her eyes, though with a smile on her face.

"I suppose." After a beat, she spoke, "Can we move from out of the doorway, Black Star? People might get the wrong idea if they see us."

He pulled her back two steps, then kicked the door closed, all while in her cleavage. She rolled her eyes again. After some time had passed, and she was about to tell him to move, she felt wet kisses against her skin. This was new, she thought, as her eyes widened.


	27. Last

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Soul/Maka

 **Theme** : 10. Last

_December 4, 2010_

__

* * *

 

Soul had found her spinning, skirt swirling around her, in the living room. It had been a long day, classes nothing but daunting, and he had come home to find her, the Maka Albarn, spinning around like a little girl who had worn a dress for the first time in her life. He was led to assume that she had been dancing with herself, arms extended. She was probably leading, he mused with a smirk.

After sputtering some nonsense about being hot, how spinning calmed her down, or something about a new exercise—he wasn't sure which excuse was more plausible, or ridiculous—she skittishly bolted for her bedroom and slammed the door shut. He lowly chuckled to himself as he took post in the living room, taking her place, to watch television.

This was the first instance.

The second instance of Maka acting… well, odd… was when they had attended a school function that required formal dress. Being a gentleman with a badass tux, he wasn't about to complain; he knew he looked good, much better than the rest of their friend group; and Maka had this extra little bounce in her step when he extended his elbow for her to hold onto while she walked, in heels no less. He liked that feeling between them. He used to hate dances, formal functions, or anything that required him to put a tie on. Now, he didn't mind it so much. Because of her.

However, in the days leading up to the formal event, she had gone shopping with Tsubaki on three—not one, not two, but three—separate occasions looking for the perfect dress. It had to fit her well, not make her chest look as flat as a board, and match his tux. So, basically, a miracle dress.

Soul had kept that comment to himself.

During the event, Maka, wearing heels about three inches too high, was like a bull in a china shop. Anything breakable was broken: glasses, plates, and even a heel on one of those damnable shoes bit the dust. She could barely walk straight, wobbling to-and-fro with every step. It was amusing to watch the torture, but then it just got sad. Being so accustomed to wearing large boots, she had made her maiden voyage a little too soon; she had sunk like the Titanic down a flight of stairs.

Soul had thought that spill was enough to make her stop, to quit while she was—who was he kidding, she wasn't ahead—far behind. This couldn't be a not-even-close-to-mid-life crisis, could it? With every passing day, her demeanor was reaching critical limits.

The instance in which he had to say something was the third and last.

They were going to go hang out at the park, play some basketball with the usual suspects. As he put on his shoes, seated at the entrance of their apartment, he turned at the noise of her footsteps to be greeted by a pair of bare legs and sandals.

He had stared a few seconds too long, drawing her attention to his gawking, and he could almost legitimately see her feathers ruffle. She sputtered something about it being laundry day—like she hadn't planned this from the get-go—before passing him to open the door. She held it open expectantly, tapping her foot loudly. Her toenails were painted. Pink. Pink!

The intervention occurred at about six o'clock that same night. They had walked home, minimal—but more so than usual—complaining by Maka about the discomfort of the shoes she had chosen. The amount of times Soul's eyes rolled reached a record number; it was during this instant he had decided that an intervention was necessary in order for the natural order of their world to fall back into place.

Once they were safely into their apartment, Soul closing the door with a soft click, he cleared his throat. When that didn't work, he spoke. "Maka? Can I talk to you about something?"

She kicked off her sandals with a pleased sigh. "What is it, Soul?" She walked into her bedroom, but leaving the door open in order to continue the conversation without necessarily being there.

He had to tread lightly. This was dangerous ground. "There's something I'm a bit confused about. I don't know if I should be worried, or anything, but you've been acting a lot different lately." The edge of his shirt was looking rather fascinating. He didn't want to confront her, but he couldn't take this act anymore.

Maka walked to her doorway, leaning against the doorframe to pay him more attention. "What are you talking about?"

He cleared his throat, shifting from one foot to the other. "You've been… acting pretty girly."

With a look that could only be trademarked as pure Maka, she responded with thick sarcasm, "That's a problem? Last time I checked, I am female. Unless you need to check to be sure."

Soul sighed. "No, that's not what I mean. I know you're a girl. There's just a certain level of girly you usually meet, but now you're kind of… going above and beyond that. It's freaking me out."

"I can't wear different clothes without checking it with you first to see if it meets my girly quota?"

He sighed again, with a groan, dragging a hand down his face. "That's not what I mean. I'm just curious, or… confused as to why you're doing this. It's not that I'm saying you can't, or you shouldn't, dress up, but… it seems like you're trying too hard."

Her arms crossed over her chest, and he suddenly found it difficult not to stare at the swell that created above the neckline of her dress. When did that get there?

"I think I heard an insult somewhere in there."

"Maybe, but I don't mean it maliciously. I don't know why you need to do this. You're fine the way you were."

"But not now?"

With exasperation, he threw his hands up in the air. "Do you need to be validated? Do you care what other people think of how you look? I know I'm saying something about it, now, but it's because it's not iyou/i. And I know you."

"You ido/i, do you?" What a dangerous tone.

"I can confidently say 'yes,' even when I know that I'm walking on thin ice and have been ever since I brought up this topic. What's got you dressing up so much more? Who are you trying to impress, Maka?"

"No one," she said, a lot softer now. "Ever since we were together, with that Little Ogre, and we danced… I've been wanting to feel the way I felt there with you." She looked uncomfortable, squirming under Soul's gaze. "I felt… dare I say it? Pretty."

He didn't know how to react to this, but tried. Closing in on her, now looking so small in the doorway, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You don't need a dress, make-up, or those death traps you call high heels in order to be pretty."

"I don't?"

"No, and I'd much prefer it if I… was the only person to see you, how you were, in my mind."

"What do you mean?"

He coughed, tilting his vision away from hers. "In my subconscious, you were dressed in a very particular way, were you not?"

"I see," she said, smiling softly. With a small chuckle at herself, she pushed away from the door, away from him. "I'm going to change."

The door shut in his face, forcing him to ponder what the hell just happened. He didn't receive a book to the skull, nor did she scream at him. It was either a breakthrough or the calm before the storm. Either way, he had more time to think.

When the door opened again, he was greeted with the sight of Maka in her well-worn pajamas and a smile. It wasn't even time for dinner yet, but to see her relaxing in something he was so used to seeing her wear, he felt at peace.

"Come on, let's order in and watch a movie. A gory, horror film to make up for the frou-frou."

"I don't want you crying in a puddle on the floor, now," he teased, his grin widening to show more of his sharp teeth. Maka playfully shoved him, and they fell in a heap on the couch, laughing. After a few minutes, when silence settled over them both, Maka spoke, looking down at Soul whose head was resting against her thigh.

"Hey, Soul?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not bad… for me to dress up every once in a while, right?"

"The sudden change was what threw me."

"And… did you mean it? What you said before?"

"I said lots of things, you have to be a bit more specific." He knew what she was referring to.

"That you think I'm pretty, even wearing something so old and worn like this?" He couldn't help but accept the way his heart clenched in his chest at those words, so hopeful and vulnerable.

"You already know the answer," Soul responded, remaining cool by not looking back at her when he spoke. He lifted the remote to turn on the television. Maka smiled, resting a hand in his hair, idly scratching. They were in the living room, where it began, but the natural order of things had righted themselves. All was how it should be.


	28. Birthday Plans

**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Prompt:**  Birthday Plans

_January 28, 2011_

__

* * *

 

If you didn't know the guy, you would believe that every single bone in his body was selfish.  _Me, me, me. I'm the Great One; therefore, I am the only person worthy of existing on the face of this earth._  No, Black Star was a bigger man than that. He chose to put his friends, especially his partner, before himself. That's what made him a great man. He looked out for the underdog, taught him how to run and run fast, and then challenged him to see what exactly he had learned. He was considerate while being in your face. He was a constant enigma, leaving you guessing what exactly was going through his mind at any given time.

So, when it came time for his partner's birthday, he had a little something in mind. First of all, he remembered it; that gave him brownie points. He also knew that she wasn't a fan of big crowds, especially with a focus on her—though, with him as a partner, when was the focus not on her?—so he decided that they would have a small, surprise gathering in their home.

He would pretend to forget about her birthday, send her out for groceries, and by the time she returned, she would be pleasantly surprised—and touched—that he would go through all of this (which, honestly, wasn't anywhere close to what she deserved) for her.

And when the party wound down, and everyone went home, the real celebration would begin. He would worship her in ways normal men never could. He took her secret perverseness and brought it to heights unimaginable, allowing cat-and-mouse games to be played. He encouraged them. He would eat birthday cake off of her. They truly celebrated life. He treated her better than he treated himself.


	29. Thirty Minutes

_**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**_ _Soul/Maka_

_**Prompt:**_ _Soul Eater, Maka/Soul, Empty Classroom, 'Short school skirts rising higher on her thighs.'_

_February 5, 2011_

__

* * *

 

_Ten minutes in, he knew she was teasing him._

Maka had suggested they stay behind to finish writing the extensive notes Stein had written on the massive chalkboard. No one else stuck around. They would. Maka wouldn't allow anything other than perfection—from herself, from him. Their relationship worked as such. Eventually, he stopped whining and asking questions. He adapted.

Soul had been barely keeping up with her pace of copying in the first place, but now it was just getting ridiculous. His mind was all over the place. He would glance out the window, seeing a bird fly by; he would find a new hole in the ceiling, wonder how it got there; he felt the light bump of Maka's knee tapping against his leg, his eyes wandered.

Living with Maka for years, he knew that she got into certain… moods. Daring moods. Without a true definition of their relationship, other than the Shibusen-sanctioned partners, they floated along, taking these moods with stride.

One bump, then two. Maka shifted in her chair, sliding down when she had reached the end of a line. She cracked her knuckles, attempted to crack her back by turning in place; finally, she stretched, leaning backwards with her hands up high in little fists. Her shirt rose, as did her skirt. When she snapped back, with a contented sigh, he noticed that her skirt remained dangerously high up on her thighs.

She smiled at him.  _That_  smile.

_Twenty minutes in, he had made up his mind._

He began brushing against her, nudging her with his knee. Maka had scooted closer, leaned over him every now and then to look at his progress. She appeared to be done, but wasn't urging him to hurry up. That was when he made up his mind; if this were any normal circumstance, she would be harassing his ass out of his chair so they could hurry up, get home, and prepare dinner. Or… something equally domestic.

But, no, she was patiently waiting for him to finish. Conclusion? Ulterior motive.

Maka's ulterior motive became as clear as crystal when she hooked her leg around his, pushing her skirt up far enough to see the black of her panties. She normally wore white.

She had this planned since this morning.

Staring at her legs was a favorite pastime of his; where she lacked in bust she made up with legs that went on for miles. Soon she would grow into herself. He would be around to witness it.

Maka leant her head against his shoulder. She giggled.

_Thirty minutes in, her back was on the floor, legs high, in between the stadium seating of the auditorium._

"I already took all the notes during the lecture," Maka said breathlessly as Soul kissed his way down her neck. When she finished her sentence, he bit her. She squealed, wiggling against him.

"We do have an apartment," Soul responded. He traced the area he had bitten with his tongue; a semi-apology before he nipped at her skin again.

Her hands were busy unbuckling his belt. "I didn't say we didn't."


	30. Pointers

_**Character(s)/Pairing(s):** _ _Soul/Maka_

_**Prompt:** _ _Soul Eater, Maka/Soul, Voyeur, "the demon watching them, and making sexual remarks."_

_February 12, 2011_

__

* * *

 

At first, the idea of putting on a show was enough to get them going. Being sexual was normally a highly private thing… even if the Imp wasn't necessarily real. So, in that case, there would be no repercussions. Right?

… not so much.

After a while, he began to give pointers.

The Imp sat back in his tall chair, legs crossed, with a glass of wine in his hand. "Put your hips into it more, girl. He's doing all the work."

Most of the time, they could ignore it. Ignore the voice, move on, have sex up against, on top of, and around the piano or on the dance floor and be fine. Maybe, at most, they would roll their eyes, spare him a scathing look.

Then it started getting more personal.

"Right there, when you do that. She's faking it," the Imp said matter-of-factly. "She only makes a noise cause she knows you like it, you sicko."

The sudden look in Maka's eyes brought Soul back to reality, and thus believing the Imp at face value. His head turned slowly, his eyes slits. Enough was enough; he had enough of this. The hardest glare he gave in his life. "Excuse me?"

The Imp was pleased. "Oh, I get a bite! I've seen you guys copulate enough to know when she's actually enjoying herself."

"I'd rather you not know the indicators," Maka sighed, running a hand through her bangs to push them away from her face. She was lying flat on the piano bench, skirt bunched around her waist. Her top was missing.

"You know," Soul began, "I don't see you around here with a little red girlfriend getting laid. I'd keep my comments to myself from now on, if I were you."

"You're not, however," the Imp replied. "I have my ways, ones which you will never even begin to fathom. This is like television to me."

Soul shrugged. "We should start charging you, then."

"Sounds reasonable to me," Maka added.


	31. Blur

_**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**_ _Soul/Maka_

_**Prompt:**_ _Soul Eater, Maka/Soul, Drunken!Sex, "It was a bad idea to listen to Black Star, because the following morning he woke up naked in his partner's bed, with a hangover."_

_February 12, 2011_

__

* * *

 

It was a bad idea to listen to Black Star, because the following morning he woke up naked in his partner's bed with a hangover.

The oh-so-wise assassin decided that it was high time to get everyone out to a local bar and get sloshed. Now that everyone, especially himself (as the runt of the group), was legal in the state of Nevada and of sloshing age.

So, due to the prodding of Black Star, followed by Liz and Patty, the entire crew of them went for a night on the town.

So… how did they get here?

Trying to think back on the night, it was a blur past a certain point. They started with a round of shots, then another. They all decided to move onto mixed drinks after that, dance a bit, chill. He remembered dancing with Maka. He remembered  _that_  well.

Soul could wonder if he had gotten sick, and she took care of him; maybe he messed up his clothes and that's why they weren't there. No, that wasn't right. If he had gotten sick, then she would most definitely leave him in his own bed to stink it up. Plus, his clothes were in various spots in her room. On the floor, strewn over a chair. It was the kind of sex that was high on urgency, apparently.

This would, without a doubt, complicate things. It could be a blessing or a curse.

Maka,  _the angel_ , was curled up to his side.

Soul took a hand, warm from their body heat under the blanket, to see if she was fully nude as well; the answer was yes. Most definitely: yes. He smiled, noticing that half of her hair was out of its normal pigtail 'do. She shivered a little, and he pulled the covers more carefully over her form.

His head throbbed a little, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Hangovers weren't the end of the world. What was the end of the world, however…

…would be Maka's reaction to this whole situation.

He would wait to find out. Until then, at least the view was nice.


	32. Overzealous

_**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**_ _Black Star/Tsubaki_

_**Prompt:**_ _Overzealous / Table_

_February 20, 2011_

__

* * *

 

When the door opened, steam billowed out into the hallway. She had a modest towel wrapped around her waist. That was enough to set her partner off.

He had been sitting at the table, minding his own business with a magazine—which should have caught her attention, because that just plain never happened. When the door opened, and Tsubaki emerged, Black Star pounced.

She should have seen it coming. He was like a dog in heat recently.

With Soul and Maka interested in only themselves, Black Star was bored—besides his training. After the threat of, "You two idiots need to figure things out! I swear!" from friends, Black Star decided to show his affection for his partner more openly than before.

Tsubaki didn't know whether to be overwhelmed or disheartened that it was purely physical. Though, when she pondered long on the topic, she concluded that Black Star was a physical being, and this was the way he would convey his emotions to her. If he wrote her a poem, she would probably have to throw him out (an ode to her breasts was not something she wanted to read).

Towel discarded, she found herself with her back on the kitchen table, legs spread. Black Star had gotten better at practicing oral sex on her, she realized, when he caught her off-guard with it.

"Black Star! Please!" she panted, leaning up to try and push him away. It was hard to push him away, crouched at the edge of the tall table. How did he even lift her up here?

When Tsubaki got him to unlatch his mouth from her, he pouted cutely up at her. "Can't I surprise you?"

"Give a girl some time to breathe. Steam and… and that… and sitting up so suddenly, ugh," she held a hand to her head. "I'm dizzy."

"Can I keep goin'?"

"Aren't you overzealous."

"I'm what?"

"Nothing, nothing," she waved him off, smiling sweetly at the excitement that was building in his eyes. He was the definition of the word overzealous. "If I faint, it's your fault entirely."

"I will take full responsibility for that one," he grinned lecherously, diving back in.


	33. Rrrip!

_**Character(s)/Pairing(s):**  Black Star/Tsubaki_

_**Prompt:**  Rrrip!_

_December_ _1,_ _2011_

* * *

"Hey, Tsubaki… when did you become such a perv?"

The water she had been casually sipping almost went up through her nose. She jolted out of range of Black Star, who was lying casually against her thigh as they watched television.

Tsubaki didn't know where that thought came from-they were watching a movie completely unrelated. She picked at a stray thread from the couch.

"W-Where did that come from?"

He shrugged, sitting upright. "Ever since we got back from that book I've kinda been wonderin'." His hands were behind his head, the epitome of casual (well, at least he attempted to be casual).

"You have? Why?"

"You just… dunno, you just don't seem like the type."

Tsubaki sighed. "It's not like I can turn it on and off. It's who I am down to the most basic level." As an afterthought, she added, "I don't act on it at all."

"But why not?" he asked, emphasizing every word. "I'm here, aren't I? You're suffering, and I can help. Why have you never asked for help?"

Realizing just what he was referring to "help" her with, her face blossomed with color. As it grew deeper and deeper by the passing seconds, she slumped against the couch. "Why do you do this to me?"

"What? Do what?" he asked, genuinely confused. He knew what he was suggesting, thought about it enough. He wanted his partner happy and satisfied. She should have known by now that he was interested in her-trying to spy on a person in the bath wasn't code for "I think you're disgusting, go away." They slept in the same bed, shared the same kitchen. Close spaces. He wanted more of her; his proposition was mainly a selfish one.

"I can't tell if you're serious or not, and it drives me crazy. Or if you're confusing it with something else."

He was over her the instant she opened her eyes. Tsubaki gasped, and then held her breath. He was too close for this to be a good thing.

"I could give you some sappy-ass speech about how I can't live without you or that you complete me or some shit, but I'm not. I don't have to for you to know that. Serious? Deadly. Confused? Never. Now, do you want to ask that question again?"

She shook her head slowly, letting out the breath she was holding in a ragged exhale.

"Then…"

"From now on, if you ever get the urge to tear my clothes off and jump me-do it."

She blushed, figuring that it would never come to that, but nodded anyway. "But what does that make us?"

"Partners. There's more than one meaning of the word, right?"

She smiled even wider now. With an overwhelming urge, she reached forward to grasp onto Black Star's workout tank top and pulled-rrrrrip.


	34. Blood: Black Star, Tsubaki

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing related to Soul Eater on a legal scale and I never will.

 **Author's Note** : And… it's been almost two years. I will definitely admit I haven't been too into the fandom for a while, but I'm making a point of finishing what I've started. I will be finishing this one-shot series so help me, and better yet now that the manga series has been completed! Enjoy and please review! I'm getting the darker prompts out of the way so I can end this series on a dirty/comical note.

* * *

 **Character(s)/Pairing(s):** Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Prompt:** Blood

_September 23, 2013_

Blood.

* * *

There was too much blood in order for Black Star to be okay, for him to have that stupid grin across his face as if he didn't have a care in the world. Tsubaki was worried, so deathly worried for her meister; but no, he continued to smile, to grin, to be tougher than she could ever hope to be. His left arm was surely dislocated, a purplish-blue hue around the joint. That had to be painful—but no, he still smiled brightly at her as if nothing else mattered in the world.

"Black Star! How can you stand? You need to get medical attention right away—"

Black Star laughed, throwing his head back, loud and strong. "Medical attention? Me? You must be kidding! I can still fight!"

A dark shadow loomed behind the man, causing Tsubaki's eyes to widen. She couldn't move. She wouldn't be able to get there in time. "Black Star, look out—"

Her shout didn't stand a chance.

Jolting awake from her horrific dream, Tsubaki's eyes immediately began searching out her bedmate. He had to be okay. Seeing him lying there, fast asleep, the weapon reached out to wrap her arms tightly around the man. She shuddered lightly, shaking from the shock of the nightmare. Tsubaki was mostly relieved that her dreams were not reality, but she was still scared that it could actually happen in the future.

Black Star was reckless, she knew, and would leap into battle without argument. She squeezed her eyes shut, burrowing her face into his bare chest.

As if sensing her inner turmoil in his sleep, Black Star's arm came to wrap around his partner, pulling her even tighter against his frame. The warmth from his body lulled her back to a more peaceful slumber.


	35. Dusk: Black Star, Tsubaki

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing related to Soul Eater on a legal scale and I never will.

 **Author's Note** : So, I had written half a prompt at work, not remembering I had finished the original idea beforehand. So, this one is similar to the previous chapter. Again, getting the dark chapters out of the way so I can be a full-blown perv.

* * *

 **Character(s)/Pairing(s)** : Black Star/Tsubaki

 **Prompt** : Dusk

_June 16, 2014_

* * *

Jolting awake, her heart raced at an incredible speed. She held a hand over her chest, eyes focusing on an unknown spot in the darkness of her bedroom as she tried to calm herself down.

Dusk. She needed to blink a few times to get used to it. She couldn't even see the soft glow of a streetlight through the curtains. She distracted herself from her dark dreams by trying to find any source of light.

A shift in the bed brought her attention to her now-awake partner.

"Tsubaki?" a voice thick with sleep inquired. "You okay?"

"It was just a dream," she breathed, partially in an attempt to convice herself it was nothing more. Hearing his voice made her feel better that he was there, alive, and unharmed. She now felt guilty for waking him up.

"Couldn't have been a good one," he mumbled, turning on his side to reach his arms out to her. "C'mere."

"Black Star, it's okay," she weakly protested. Despite the way her heart hadn't slowed down completely, she felt relieved; dreams and nightmares were blending so closely together nowadays.

"Nope," he disagreed, his arms worming their way securely around her. He laid back, pulling her to his chest. "I can feel your heart, y'know. Soul resonance."

"Oh."

She smiled, realizing she had tears in her eyes that she did not notice before. Clearing her throat, she snuggled against his bare chest. He always knew what she needed to feel better.

"So shuddup and cuddle."


End file.
